


I'm a Sucker for You

by YoYoHa



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Alpha/Beta/Omega Dynamics, Alternate Universe, Childbirth, M/M, Masturbation, Mating Cycles/In Heat, Mpreg, Omega Verse, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Past Abuse, Smut, mentions of abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-03-14
Updated: 2020-03-30
Packaged: 2021-03-01 02:47:19
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 9
Words: 27,917
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23147980
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoYoHa/pseuds/YoYoHa
Summary: When a very pregnant and in-labor Akaashi Keiji finds himself being helped out by Bokuto Koutarou, the wealthy son of a prominent businessman, their lives become entwined in ways neither could ever imagine.Lots of Omegaverse, Omega!Akaashi and Alpha!Bokuto.
Relationships: Akaashi Keiji/Bokuto Koutarou
Comments: 114
Kudos: 506





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm going to attempt to actually finish something this time, but I've finally rolled back around to Haikyuu!! I always loved Omegaverse and this idea has been rustling around in my brain for years now, so it was finally time to put the proverbial pen to paper and flesh it out.

Akaashi Keiji looked down at his watch, scuffed up and worn, with disdain.

His bus was already eight minutes late, and he still had a few connections to catch before he actually made it to the hospital. A sharp pain from his abdomen made him wince.

His water broke ten minutes ago, and since then the regularly cool-minded Omega tried to stave off panic as his contractions shortened rapidly. His grip on the pole announcing the bus stop tightened as he gritted his teeth to the onslaught of pain. Akaashi was averse to crying out, especially since he was in a public area, but he was feeling that reservation slip. At this rate, he may need to call a taxi; it would get him to his desired hospital faster, but as he fished for the phone in his pocket, he doubled over in pain, dropping it on the concrete.

He hadn’t been counting the minutes between his contractions but he knew that they were speeding up and at a rate that Akaashi hadn’t been planning for.

“No need to rush little one,” Akaashi hissed, rubbing his swollen stomach, still hunched over. Looking to his right he could see no sign of the oncoming bus, and felt pinpricks of tears at his eyes. Even though he was heavily frustrated and more afraid than he’d ever been in his entire life, he refused to cry. After all, he didn’t make it this far on his own by letting his emotions get to him. 

As the contraction finished, Akaashi righted himself, taking deep and steady breaths to calm down and help through the pain. Scooping up his phone from the sidewalk, he noticed a few more cracks in the glass screen. Great. But he would make it to the hospital, and everything would work out; he couldn’t let himself believe otherwise.   
He checked his watch again, noticing that the bus was now a total of nineteen minutes late and groaned. Akaashi began pacing to relieve some of the pressure he felt. It wasn’t a few more minutes before he felt another stab of pain.

“Shit,” he cursed, clutching his stomach again and grabbing onto the railing to steady himself and lean on.

He needed to make it to the hospital. Where was the damn bus?

“I’m going to make it,” he muttered, eyes clenched against the pain, “I’m going to make it, I’m going to make it.”

Akaashi looked towards the right again, still seeing no sign of the bus.

_I’m not going to make it._

“Hey, are you alright?”

Akaashi whipped his head towards the stranger’s voice. A very peculiar looking man in a suit was walking briskly towards him from his car. The first thing he noticed was his odd choice of a hairstyle. It was spiked up, with what looked like a poor dye job on bleaching his hair considering his black roots were starkly contrasting the white.

He opened his mouth to tell him he was fine but all that managed to escape was a whine and he slumped against the pole. 

Panic started to bubble in the pit of Akaashi’s stomach, as much as he wanted to push it down, but he could tell that he would have to deliver his pup soon and there wasn’t any conceivable way to make it to Irahata hospital, considering it was across town. 

“Woah, woah, are you in freaking labor?!” the stranger squawked in surprise. He took a step closer to Akaashi to put his hands on him before he thought better of it and dropped them to his side. Looking around frantically, it seemed he took an assessment of the situation. “Hey, do you need a ride to the hospital? This bus is having maintenance done today.”

Of course, Akaashi thought bitterly, but he wasn’t going to share his thoughts, more focused on controlling his heavy breathing. If the bus wasn’t going to come then he would be best getting a ride from a taxi. Normally frugal, the Omega couldn’t even begin to rationalize not shelling out the cash for a ride. 

“I’m fine,” he lied, still glad his phone was in his hand. 

“Yeah, right! You don’t even look like you can stand, let me take you to the hospital.”

If Akaashi weren’t put in such an urgent situation, he would never even consider riding with a stranger, but as the twinges in his abdomen got worse and worse, the protective instincts telling him to protect his pup overrode self-preservation and safety. 

He nodded his head, not trusting his voice to answer properly.

“Can you stand? Can you walk? Do you need me to carry you? Would that even be a good idea?” the stranger babbled, waving his hands around frantically. His questions were making Akaashi’s head spin and he huffed, pushing himself off the pole and waddling away from it, effectively answering the weird stranger’s questions.

He walked past Akaashi to lead him to his car. “That one’s mine, the back seat is all yours.”

Akaashi couldn’t help but marvel at the vehicle. It was nice. Nicer than any car he’d ever seen, especially in this neighborhood. He wondered what this man did for a living in order to afford such luxury. 

“Thank you, umm…?” Akaashi asked as the stranger opened the back seat. There was a moment of silence where the two stared at each other before the other man realized Akaashi was prompting him for his name. 

“Oh, um, Bokuto Koutarou,” he introduced, scratching the back of his head sheepishly. Akaashi would’ve thought it was cute if he weren’t fighting off the pains of contractions. “And you are?”

“Akaashi Keiji,” he replied fluidly before getting into the car, a bit more awkwardly than his normal movements. Bokuto closed the door after him and got into the driver’s seat, starting the car.

The name seemed a tad familiar to him, like he’d heard it before, but in his current state he was unable to place it.

“Thank you, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said through gritted teeth before huffing out a breath. He rubbed soothing circles on his stomach hoping to soothe some of his pain. It helped that he was sitting; it relieved some of the tension in his feet. 

“No problem!” he said, flashing Akaashi a large smile in the rear view mirror as he began the drive. “I couldn’t just leave you on the side of the road.”

Akaashi knew that wasn’t necessarily true, but that it reflected upon Bokuto’s personality and character to be a good Samaritan. 

“Regardless,” Akaashi responded, “thank you.” 

He was putting his and his unborn pup’s lives in the hands of this stranger. He’d made it this far. There was no way he could mess things up now. With the rev of the engine, Bokuto started the car and began to drive towards the opposite way Akaashi was intending to go. 

“I’m sorry to impose,” he started, “but is there any way to take me to Irahata hospital?” It was the only hospital in the area that took his insurance, and he’d had a payment plan with them set up so that the hospital bill wouldn’t be astronomically high. 

“Are you insane?!” Bokuto retorted. “That hospital is across town. We’re headed to Kikujin General.”

Akaashi felt his stomach drop. There was no way he could pay for the delivery there, but he couldn’t exactly argue with the stranger who’d gone out of his way to help him. 

“I see,” he mumbled before slumping back against the seat. Akaashi focused on controlling his breath as Bokuto drove, trying to concentrate on nothing else. He bit his lips against the whines of pain that threatened to spill and shifted in discomfort multiple times. 

“It should only be a little while longer,” Bokuto informed, glancing at his rear view mirror occasionally. “Are you alright?”

“Keep your eyes on the road,” he snapped, irritated by the possibility of getting into a wreck at this crucial time. Bokuto’s golden eyes widened and Akaashi felt a hint of fear race through him. “My apologies.”

Instead of snapping back, Bokuto let out a good bout of hearty laughter. “That’s alright! You’re right, I’ll keep my eyes on the road.”

It hadn’t exactly crossed Akaashi’s mind earlier because of the panic and adrenaline that was in him, but Bokuto was an Alpha. Akaashi was lucky he didn’t get angry at such an outburst from an Omega, but there seemed to be a lot of things going Akaashi’s way today. 

“A-aah,” he choked out as he felt the pup drop. He pushed his knees together and covered his mouth with his hand. 

Just wait a little while longer

He didn’t know how close they were to the hospital, but the contractions were starting to urge him to push, and Akaashi fought against it as best he could. The pressure in his lower abdomen grew with intensity and it took all the Omega had to keep from crying. 

“Akaashi? Hey, Akaashi, is everything okay?”

The Omega tuned him out. He couldn’t remove his hand from his mouth to answer, lest an embarrassing noise slip out. Hunched over in the back seat with his eyes screwed shut didn’t make for the prettiest picture, but if Bokuto just kept driving, Akaashi knew they would make it. Up until now luck had been on his side. 

At least that’s what he thought until he felt his pup pushing against his tender opening. 

A gasp accompanied the new pain in between his legs. Strangely, the first thing he was concerned about was ruining Bokuto’s car. 

“Bokuto-san…!” he exclaimed, gripping the two front seats as he panted. 

“Woah, what happened?! Akaashi?”

“I’m not going to make it,” he admitted between shuddering breaths, feeling hot tears start to pour down his face. He was embarrassed to take advantage of a stranger’s kindness and that he’s ruined his car. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to apologize for anything,” Bokuto reassured, pulling his phone out of his pocket to call for an ambulance. 

Akaashi let out a howl of pain before biting into his arm. There was nothing he could do to prevent the birth of his pup, and he began to panic. 

Bokuto cursed before pulling off on the side of the interstate they were on. Stopping the car as quickly but as gently as he could before getting out. 

“Lay down,” he instructed, opening the back door so he could help maneuver the Omega. “We’re going to have to do this here.”

“No, no, no-“

“It’ll be fine,” Bokuto said, though his own fear in his scent told a different story. The person at the other end of the line had finally connected him to an EMT, and the Alpha covered his other ear to hear better. 

“Yes, we’ve pulled over on the interstate towards Kikujin General. Near mile marker 12.” He waited a bit as he listened to instructions. Bokuto removed the sports jacket he was wearing and rolled up the sleeves on his button up, cradling the phone between his ear and shoulder while occasionally muttering an affirmative. 

Meanwhile, Akaashi bit into the flesh of his arm, stifling his groans of pain as best he could. 

“Uh, Akaashi, I need to take off your pants,” Bokuto said a bit awkwardly. Akaashi huffed before nodding, allowing Bokuto to strip his bottom half. 

“Check to see if he’s what?” Bokuto asked to the person on the other line. “I don’t even know what that means!”

“Bokuto-san, I am grateful for your help but this baby is coming _now_ ,” Akaashi hissed, sitting up a bit to brace himself against the opposite door. Without a medical professional here, he was absolutely terrified, but he couldn’t deny his body’s natural instincts. If anything, he’d just do what he felt was right and they would go from there.   
Bokuto’s eyes widened and he put the phone down, switching it to speaker. 

_“Omega, what is your name?”_

“Akaashi Keiji,” he said to the woman on the other line. 

_“We’re sending an ambulance your way, and they will get there as soon as they can.”_

“An ambulance won’t make it!” he hissed, feeling a fresh wave of tears. Awkwardly, Bokuto placed his hand over Akaashi’s knee, but the Omega felt some comfort from the gesture. 

_“That’s alright, I’m going to walk you through the steps to get this baby delivered safely, and the ambulance can provide post-natal care, alright?”_

Akaashi bit his lip against another scream and nodded. 

“He said okay,” Bokuto supplied. 

The woman on the receiver proceeded to ask about Akaashi’s contractions, and if he could get Bokuto to check how dilated he was. The Omega let his head rest against the window with a choked sob. They were already past all that. 

“Uh, I think I see the pup’s head,” Bokuto said weakly, after hesitantly checking between Akaashi’s legs. 

_“Then on the next contraction, Akaashi-san, I will need you to push.”_

Hearing those words seemed like both a condemnation and a reprieve simultaneously, and he grounded himself so that he could follow instructions. 

The pain was unbelievable as he ground down on the unbearable pressure, and he pushed for as long as he could before taking a gasping breath and sobbing against the pain.   
Bokuto looked like a deer in headlights and seemed as panicked as Akaashi felt. 

“I c-can’t…” the Omega whimpered. 

_“Yes, you can. It’s in your natural instincts.”_

The process continued, and Bokuto took a steadying breath before looking earnestly in Akaashi’s eyes. 

“You’re going to be fine. Both you and your pup will make it through this.”

The way he spoke made Akaashi feel like there was no way he could argue. Something about Bokuto seemed dependable, and he felt a stirring of courage in his own heart.   
With the next few contractions, Akaashi was one step closer to meeting his pup, and while nothing really changed, he felt more hopeful that things would turn out alright. When he heard the ambulance’s siren he sobbed with joy. 

The EMTs arrived and jostled Bokuto out of the way to take care of the situation. 

“No!” Akaashi said impulsively. He didn’t really know Bokuto, but he was able to make Akaashi feel a bit safer, and he didn’t want him to leave. 

The Alpha walked around the car so that he could sit in the passenger’s side, and while holding Akaashi’s hand, the Omega brought his pup into the world.

~*~

Bokuto couldn’t ride in the ambulance, since his car would be left on the side of the interstate, so he just followed them to Kikujin General hospital.

Akaashi gave birth to a healthy baby boy, and despite doing barely anything, Bokuto himself felt overcome with joy and awe. The doctors took Akaashi back to do a thorough check on him and to make sure everything that seemed fine actually was, and when Bokuto was alone in the waiting room, a timid receptionist walked up to him. 

“W-were you the one who called the ambulance?” 

It was clear that this young blonde was an Omega, and she seemed very terrified about the idea of even speaking to Bokuto. 

“Yeah, that’s right,” he answered, looking around and seeing a few familiar, but passing faces. 

“If you’d like to come over, we can get the bill settled up.”

Bokuto furrowed his eyebrows. She must’ve been new. 

“I’m Bokuto Koutarou. You can just send all the charges to me and my father’s company,” he said, fishing his ID out from his pocket and showing it to the receptionist. “That should be fine, right?”

The receptionist turned into an embarrassed stuttering mess, and she bowed low before apologizing. 

“I am so sorry Bokuto-sama!” she blurted. “Please forgive my rudeness.”

They were drawing attention and Bokuto let out a light chuckle. “It’s fine. Here, let’s go back to the counter.”

To keep from drawing even more attention, Bokuto walked back to the receptionists counter with her and let her calm down. 

“We can charge the ambulance to the company, do we also need to charge the hospital bills for Akaashi-san? His record indicates he’s been locked into a payment plan with Irahata, so that would likely cause some trouble-“

“Payment plan?” Bokuto interrupted. 

“Ah, yes. It seems he’s been allowed to apply for a payment plan at Irahata due to income hardships, but that’ll be difficult to navigate since he’s now here,” she explained. After a brief pause she covered her mouth. 

“I’m so sorry! You’re not related, are you?”

“No, but-“

“I’ve made a major mistake!” she exclaimed, fisting her small hands through her blonde hair. “Everyone knows not to disclose information to people who are not relatives or have been given express consent,” she mumbled to herself. “Mother, please forgive me.”

She seemed absolutely dejected. And while it was true that such a thing couldn’t be quite overlooked, Bokuto had more an insight into the situation. 

“It’s okay, miss. I’ll cover the charges with my personal account. It should be fine, right? As long as you have the money,” Bokuto said, pulling his checkbook from his sports jacket. 

“You’re not going to call for me to be fired?”

Bokuto stared at her quizzically. “As long as you can help me out, nope.”

The nurse, whose nameplate read “Hitoka Yachi”, began to calculate all the charges for Akaashi’s bill. 

“And so, altogether, that will come to-“

~*~

“Thank you for your help,” Akaashi said humbly, cradling his newborn pup in his arms. Bokuto was beaming, squirming to catch a glimpse at the infant’s face.

“No problem! Like I said, I couldn’t just leave you on the street! Who knows what could’ve happened!”  
The pup began to fuss over Bokuto’s volume level, and Akaashi took a moment to look down at his son reverently. It was silent for a moment before he turned those steely eyes to Bokuto. 

“I’m very grateful. And I apologize about your car. I can try to get it cleaned.”

“Nonsense, it wasn’t that bad.” In reality, there was a lot of interior work that would need to be done, but it seemed inconsequential to Bokuto after witnessing the birth of new life. “And besides, I decided to help you, which means everything that came afterwards is on me.”

There was another moment of pause as Akaashi tried to puzzle out how someone could be so helpful and giving to someone he didn’t even know. He’d never known such kindness and was wary of Bokuto’s motivations.

“What’s his name?”

The question startled Akaashi, but he couldn’t help but smile when he looked down at the pup in his arms. 

“Sousuke. Akaashi Sousuke”

Bokuto hummed. “That’s a good name.” The Alpha took notice that the pup was keeping the Omega’s surname. That coupled with the fact that there wasn’t an Alpha already who was taking care of Akaashi made him wonder what the Omega’s situation was.

“Bokuto-san. Was there-“

“How are we doing this afternoon?” said the nurse who had entered, interrupting what Akaashi was going to say. 

“Yo, it’s Yaku!” Bokuto said jovially. 

“Eh? Bokuto, what are you doing here?” the nurse asked with a wide smile. “I haven’t seen you in ages!”

“I drove him,” Bokuto replied sheepishly. 

Yaku walked over to Akaashi’s bed to check his chart. 

“Are you ever going to stop picking people up?” he said playfully. “I swear, you’re going to run your father’s company into the ground.”

With that comment, Akaashi felt a heavy guilt settle on him. “Bokuto-san, if it really is a burden, I can take care of-“

“Nope!” Bokuto answered, with a tone that suggested no arguing. 

“There’s no reason in fighting, kid. Once Bokuto makes his mind up about something, he’s impossible to stop,” he chuckled. “And besides, the bill has already been paid for.”

Akaashi’s face went pale. “What?”

“Yaku!”

The alight brunet nurse blinked owlishly a few times. “You didn’t tell him?” he asked towards Bokuto.

“He what?!”

“I just covered the bill,” Bokuto replied. “I paid for the ambulance anyways and I knew it’d be expensive and I felt like it might be a burden to you if you had to worry about it-“

“That was not your call to make,” Akaashi seethed, silencing Bokuto’s argument. There was an awkward, stifled silence the three stood in.

Bokuto was the first to break it, turning his head to Yaku. 

“Go,” he commanded, and Yaku mumbled a quiet “excuse me” before bowing and leaving.

With just Bokuto left, Akaashi turned to face him. 

“What do you want? I don’t have the money to pay you back.”

“That’s not it-“

“Then what is it?!” Akaashi spat. “If you’re just here to pity and poke fun at me then you can leave!”

With the harsh tone, Sousuke began crying, plunging the other two into wordless silence. It took a few minutes for Akaashi to calm down his son, and afterwards, they were silent again. 

“Akaas-“

“Forgive me,” Akaashi interrupted. “You saved our lives and this is no way for me to repay you.”

Bokuto felt like he definitely overstepped. To him, it didn’t make sense to not help him. He had an excess of money and while he didn’t know any specifics, Akaashi seemed to not have much, so wouldn’t it be natural to rely on him?

Then again, he was a stranger. 

“That’s okay, I overstepped. I just figured that giving birth and taking care of a pup would be difficult already, let alone having to worry about the bill of it,” Bokuto said, scratching his head. 

The Omega seemed to calm down slightly. 

“Well, please let me repay you somehow.”

Bokuto pursed his lips. He didn’t want Akaashi worrying about paying him back, but the Omega seemed determined to do so. 

“Can you cook?” he asked.

Akaashi looked confused at the question. “I can.”

“Then how about dinner? And we can call it even?”

“That would hardly cover the hospital expenses,” Akaashi mumbled. 

“I don’t get to eat home-cooked food too often, and I’m dying to taste something prepared with a little heart just for me,” Bokuto explained, beaming. It wasn’t untrue. Mainly he ate food from restaurants. 

The Omega seemed nervous about the suggestion, but relented. 

“Okay. Let me give you my contact information."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> its ya boi back at it again with some omegaverse nonsense. here it is! The first (not) date! I was surprised at the response I got in just a day from this fanfic, but I'm really glad there are people that are enjoying it so far! So kudos to all y'all!!

Bokuto had no idea why Akaashi had seemed nervous about dinner, but he went on about his days, waiting for the Omega to contact him. 

Surprisingly, he found himself texting Akaashi about things other than the dinner, curious to learn more about the Omega. Of course Akaashi had seemed reluctant to do so, and only texted back sporadically. 

In his office, Bokuto groaned. 

“I hate paperwork!” he shouted to no one, leaning back dangerously in his rolling chair to take in the city view from his windowed wall. 

As the heir to a successful owner of multiple hospitals, Bokuto had advantages to being elevated to a high position early on in his life. Of course, people who were vying for his position cried “nepotism”, and launched complaint after complaint, but Bokuto could outdo anyone at his job and was truly the best candidate. As far as regional branch managers went, he was the best choice for the Kanto region. 

“Bokuto-sama,” his secretary’s voice called from their intercom, “the young master Kuroo Tetsurou is here to visit.”

As formal as it sounded, Kuroo was an old friend that went way back. 

“Let him in!”

It was moments before the familiar Alpha made his way into Bokuto’s office, and when he did, he leaned against the desk with a crooked grin. 

“I heard a rumor you picked up a cute Omega,” he said suspiciously. Bokuto rolled his eyes. 

“It’s not like that. I don’t have time for anything like that anyways,” Bokuto responded. 

“Tell me all the deets, bro,” Kuroo said, dragging a chair from the opposite side of his office to sit at the other side of the desk. 

“Well, I saw him on the side of the road and he looked like he was in trouble, so I gave him a ride to Kikujin and he ended up giving birth in my car,” Bokuto recounted, and Kuroo’s mouth fell open. 

“He did what in your _what_?!”

A woman who was walking outside caught only that sliver of conversation and hurried past, an embarrassed blush on her face. 

“Ssh! Keep it down!”

“He gave birth. To a whole ass pup. In your _car_?!” Kuroo repeated, placing his hands in his disheveled hair.

“Yes. It sounds crazy but I couldn’t just leave him on the sidewalk!”

“Well, it’s a coincidence he found you,” Kuroo said, leaning back in his chair. 

Bokuto thought about how it indeed was a coincidence he found him, and hummed lightly. 

“Uh-oh. I know that look.”

Bokuto looked owlishly at Kuroo. 

“What?”

“That look! I know it!” Kuroo said. “You like him, don’t you?” 

“Don’t be ridiculous, I barely know him,” Bokuto said, feeling his face get warmer. 

“I can read you like a book, Kou. You _totally_ like him! So, when do you get to see him again? Check on him and baby?” Kuroo said, leaning against the desk. 

Bokuto didn’t respond for a moment, but it wasn’t like he could ever keep anything from Kuroo. 

“Friday,” he mumbled. 

Kuroo whistled. 

“Well, you’ll have to tell me all the deets about that too when it happens. So I’ll call you Saturday morning? Let you get lucky?”

“Dude, he just had a freakin’ baby,” Bokuto said, pushing Kuroo’s face so that the other Alpha would sit in his chair. 

“Right, right. Maybe you can just get your scent on. Do a little cuddling.”

“I swear to God, Tetsu. It’s not like that. He just wanted to repay me for helping him,” Bokuto commented. 

“Well, we need to make sure you’re dressed to the nines, right? So I’ll meet you after you get off,” Kuroo said standing up. “And I won’t take any arguments on that.”

Bokuto sighed. 

“Fine. I’ll see you at 5:30.”

Kuroo walked out of the office and Bokuto got back to work. He had a lot to think about before his dinner with Akaashi in two days.

~*~

“Kenma, I don’t really want to talk about it,” Akaashi sighed, as he sprayed down his countertop and tried to wipe it. The white vinyl of his countertop seemed perpetually dirty with stains, and he groaned at the fact it would never be clean.

“It’s your payment for me helping you clean on my day off,” Kenma said quietly. “How’d you deliver a baby at Kikujin General when you could barely afford Irahata?”

Akaashi sighed and stopped scrubbing the countertop. 

“He paid for it,” Akaashi mumbled. Kenma’s eyes went wide. 

“He _paid_ for it?!” he exclaimed, and Akaashi could swear he’s never heard Kenma get that loud. Akaashi felt a flush of embarrassment. “He has _money_ money!”

“Yeah, I didn’t ask about it. It had been a crazy day,” Akaashi said, moving on to cleaning out his sink. From the other room, he could hear Sousuke stirring. 

“Well, what a fortunate turn of events,” Kenma said, dusting off the meager few items in Akaashi’s living room area. 

“I still have to pay Irahata a fee for breaking our disagreement, so I have to figure out where that money is coming from,” Akaashi said. 

There was a pause for a moment. 

“When do you go back to work?” Kenma asked. 

“Next week.”

“But,” Kenma started. “You just had Sousuke earlier this week. Isn’t there maternity leave or something?”

“Not paid, or else I would be taking it. Luckily I can bring Sousuke to the daycare for free.”

Kenma winced. 

“Here’s to hoping he doesn’t catch anything from the other kids.”

“Here’s to hoping,” Akaashi said. 

The two worked in silence for a little while longer. It was naturally for them. Even since high school the two had formed a strange friendship, and Kenma had been with him through so much that the other Omega was basically an extension of him. 

“So, is he cute?” Kenma asked, breaking the silence, and Akaashi thought that Kenma was maybe being extra pushy today. 

“I don’t know,” Akaashi answered. 

“Ah, so he is,” Kenma said, a hint of a smile playing on his face. “You would’ve said ‘no’ if you didn’t think so.”

“He looks a little….weird. But he helped me, so of course I view him favorably,” Akaashi responded. He twisted his body a little, trying to shake of some of the stiffness from standing for too long, and decided to just sit in a chair at his breakfast table. 

“Well, this might be good for you. You haven’t gone on anything like a date since….well, in a while.”

He knew what Kenma was going to say, but he was glad he didn’t mention that Alpha’s name. It hurt too much to think about him. 

“It’s not like that. I’m just trying to pay him back for helping me,” Akaashi said. 

“Well, then we need to make sure you cook him something good.”

~*~

“What about something casual?” Bokuto asked, as he tried on some ridiculous looking half-cut tailcoat.

“Casual? Aren’t you going to dinner?” Kuroo asked, with his arms full of crazy patterned clothes. 

“He’s _making_ dinner. At his house. I need to be casual,” Bokuto said, taking off the clothes in the dressing room he was in. 

“Ooooohhhh, I see. Okay, casual coming right up!” Kuroo said with a thumbs up as he left the dressing room. 

Bokuto sighed and ran his hands through his spiked hair. 

He hadn’t recalled getting this worked up about dinner in a long time. Mainly since high school. Once he took a second to stop and think, he realized he couldn’t get Akaashi out of his head. Despite the odd circumstances of their meeting, he had to say that the Omega was attractive. 

He slapped his face with both hands to get himself to snap out of his train of thought. 

“You’re preying on the poor boy, Koutarou. This is no time for you to be looking for a mate,” he said to himself in the mirror. 

“Time to be looking for a mate? I think so too!” Kuroo said, stepping into the dressing room and handing Bokuto some clothes. The outfit was simple, just some grey pants and a light pink patterned polo. Kuroo had even grabbed him a brown belt and dress shoes to match. 

“That’s not what I was saying, Tetsu,” Bokuto said as he took the clothes and held them up to his body. “But I think this will be fine.”

He wasted no time in putting on the clothes to try them on, and once he inspected the outfit and approved it, he headed out of the store. 

“Well, good luck, buddy. Tell me how it goes,” Kuroo said, giving Bokuto a big hug. 

“Ew gross,” Bokuto said jokingly, before returning the hug. “I’ll call you when I get home.”

The two walked to their respective cars and left. 

Despite the cleaning and interior reworking that Bokuto had done, his car still smelled like Akaashi. It was crisp, like fresh rain, but also had a sweet undertone, like honey, or cream. He realized he liked the scent a little too much and rolled his windows down. Hair be damned. 

The address that Akaashi had told him was for an apartment a little ways away. It wasn’t in the nicest neighborhood, but Bokuto didn’t really expect it to be, based on what he knew so far about Akaashi’s situation. 

He pulled into one of the apartment’s few parking spaces and felt his nerves rise. Walking up the stairs, he found to correct apartment number and knocked. 

“Coming!” he heard from the other side, and Bokuto took the moment to take a deep breath and adjust his hair. 

When the door opened, Akaashi was there wearing a dark blue button down with tiny white polka dots, and black pants. Over his outfit was an apron, and Bokuto could smell something absolutely delicious coming from inside the apartment. 

“Just, um. Come on in, and you can sit at the table,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto took a step inside the small apartment. 

There was space for a living room right as he walked in, and to the right of the door was a wall with a kitchen island that separated the kitchen from the rest of the apartment. There were three doors against the far wall that Bokuto could tell were for bathrooms and bedrooms, and sitting in the living room in a small rocker was Sousuke. 

Bokuto felt elated to see the baby and he knelt down by the small pseudo-bed and just looked at the baby. Sousuke was awake, but not making any noise as his eyes slowly shifted from one thing to another. 

“He’s so quiet,” Bokuto said, still fascinated by the small life. Akaashi poked his head over the counter and a small smile graced his face. 

“Yes, I am lucky that he is not very noisy. Though that could easily change in the next few months,” he said, before returning to work in the kitchen. 

In the carpeted area beside the kitchen there was a small table with two chairs pushed against the wall, and Bokuto glanced at it before looking to Akaashi. 

The Omega winced slightly as he gathered the bowls and plates for dinner. 

“Here, let me do that, you sit,” Bokuto said, reaching out to help Akaashi. 

“No, it’s fine, I got it.” Akaashi said, but didn’t fight to pull the bowls he was holding away. 

Bokuto took them and stepped aside for Akaashi to sit down. 

“You should try to stay off your feet,” Bokuto said, bringing all the dishes to the table. However, he had no idea how they needed to be arranged, so he let Akaashi do that part. 

“Thank you,” Akaashi said, and averted his gaze to the floor. “I hope you enjoy.”

Bokuto picked up his chopsticks and surveyed all the food on the table. 

It seemed like a traditional katsudon, with miso soup, and steamed vegetables. 

“Can’t beat a good katsudon!” Bokuto said as he chowed down into his meal, and despite it’s relative simplicity, the flavor was delicious. 

Finding no time to talk in the midst of delicious food, Bokuto scarfed it all down, finishing in half the time it took Akaashi, and when he set down his miso bowl, the Omega seemed pleased.

“Do you cook like that all the time?” Bokuto asked. 

“Not all the time. Do you eat like that all the time?”

Bokuto laughed lightly at the joke. 

“Not all the time. Only when the food is good.”

Akaashi looked down. 

“So I take it you liked it?”

“Liked it? I loved it! I said it before, but , I don’t usually get home-cooked meals, and there’s something that’s just different about restaurant food,” Bokuto said. Akaashi nodded, and he finished his food while Bokuto chattered away about anything he could think of, and once dinner was done, Akaashi moved to clean the dishes. 

“Let me get those,” Bokuto said, standing and starting to gather dishes. 

“I’m not helpless, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi huffed. 

“Trust me, I know you’re not, but you did just have a baby, you need to take it easy,” Bokuto said, leaving no room for argument. He rinsed all the dishes and placed them in the sink. After rinsing, he had no idea what to do with them, so he just left them in the sink, and when he turned around, Akaashi was standing with an envelope outstretched to him.

“What’s this?” Bokuto asked. 

“I know it’s not much, but please let me pay you back for the other day,” Akaashi said softly, looking into Bokuto’s eyes pleadingly. 

But Bokuto was going to stay firm on his decision, and a pair of beautiful, steely blue eyes wasn’t going to change his mind. 

“If you’re that adamant about paying me back, then you can cook me dinner again, but I’m not taking your money,” Bokuto said.

“Why won’t you take it?” Akaashi sighed, and he furrowed his brow. 

“Because I was the one who decided to help you. And I don’t need it. What I need is some nutritious and delicious food every once and a while and some company,” Bokuto explained, and he hoped he wasn’t imposing, but his heart hurt knowing Akaashi felt like he owed him money. 

Akaashi sighed. 

“You seem like a difficult man, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi sighed. “I could cook for you again in two weeks if that’s fine with you?” 

Bokuto beamed and pulled out his phone to put it on his calendar. 

“Sure, that sounds good to me!” 

Akaashi picked up Sousuke from where he was lying. 

“Can I walk you out?” Akaashi asked, and Bokuto felt his heart drop a little. Tough he wasn’t sure what he was expecting, since they had only agreed on dinner.

“Sure,” Bokuto said, and headed towards the front door. “Thank you for dinner, I really enjoyed it.”

“Yes, it was nice. I don’t usually cook for others so this was a pleasant change,” Akaashi responded, and for a moment, both lingered at the open door, as if the other wanted to say something, and then Akaashi cleared his throat. 

“Right! So, I’ll see you in two weeks!”

“See you then,” Akaashi said before he closed the door. 

Bokuto managed to keep it together until he made it to his car, which still smelled like Akaashi, and he groaned, beating his head twice against the steering wheel. 

“What are you, an idiot?! Why did you expect more than just dinner, Koutarou, you set yourself up for disappointment,” he groaned to himself. He sat in his dejection a little while longer before pulling out of the parking lot to head home. 

Unknowingly, Akaashi watched him the whole time, and sighed when he finally drove away. 

Holding Sousuke in one arm, he fished for his phone in his pocket and called Kenma, knowing that the other Omega would want to hear how dinner went. 

“Done already?” Kenma asked in lieu of a greeting. 

“Hello to you too, Kenma. He just left.”

“Well, how did it go?” Kenma asked. 

Akaashi shifted Sousuke as he sat down on the couch, and put Kenma on speaker phone so he could use both hands. 

“Good, I think he was a little nervous,” Akaashi said, unfastening his buttons and unhooking the front strap of his nursing bra. 

“That’s always good. Were you?” the other Omega asked. 

“Of course I was,” Akaashi said, bringing his pup to his breast to feed. “He’s an incredibly rich guy that I brought into my tiny apartment, of course I was nervous.”

“But he didn’t say anything about the apartment, did he?” Kenma asked, as if he already knew what the answer was. 

“No.”

“See? I told you it wouldn’t matter. If he really was the guy who did the things you said he did, he’s not going to care about your apartment or anything else like that,” Kenma said, and Akaashi sighed. 

“You’re right. I guess I was just overreacting. He wouldn’t take the money either.”

“Of course not.”

“So I invited him back over for dinner,” Akaashi said, and Kenma was silent for a while before letting out a little laugh. 

“He must be a great guy to get a second date from the cool and mysterious Akaashi Keiji,” Kenma said, before clicking his tongue. In the background, electronic sounds could be heard. 

“Are you playing a video game?” Akaashi asked. 

“Always,” Kenma responded, and Akaashi smiled, even if the other couldn’t see it. 

“Well, I’ll let you get to it then. Don’t stay up all night,” Akaashi chided. 

“I will. Good night,” Kenma responded, and Akaashi rolled his eyes before hanging up. 

He looked down at Sousuke, who had become the center of his life, and felt his heart well up, cuddling the infant closer, he began to hum a lullaby.


	3. Chapter 3

All that was on Bokuto’s mind was Akaashi. He wondered so many things about him, like where he had learned to cook, and what was his favorite song. Of course there were other things he wanted to know, like where was Sousuke’s father, and what his dream in life was. Bokuto found himself fantasizing about stuff that he knew would never happen, and he’d learned before how dangerous it was to dream of things he couldn’t have. It would only lead to hurt and disappointment down the road. 

For now the two were just in a mutual agreement to have dinner every so often for Akaashi to repay Bokuto for the kind act he showed him. Nothing more, nothing less. 

But oh, how Bokuto wished it could be something more. 

“Maybe I should pick up a gift for Sousuke,” he mumbled to himself, looking into the window of a maternity and baby boutique. 

It had almost been two weeks since he last met Akaashi, and since then it had been radio silence. Bokuto had tried reaching out, but the Omega simply didn’t return his texts. He was starting to wonder if maybe he had said or did something wrong the last time. 

At that moment, his phone buzzed in his pocket. 

Opening it, he saw a picture from Akaashi. It was a picture of a great horned owl with the caption “Look, it’s you.” 

Bokuto couldn’t help but laugh out loud at that. True, he loved the animals, his name was read that way after all, and he even styled his hair in their fashion. 

He responded back a laughing emoji, and waited on the sidewalk for a response. 

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_So, did you still want to do dinner Friday?_

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_YES!_

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_You know where to meet. Bring your appetite._

Bokuto felt his heart soar and he threw a fist in the air. Deciding he should, he walked into the boutique. He’d pick something up for Sousuke after all. 

Of course, he had no idea what he was actually looking for, so he stood in the shop a bit dumbfounded, looking around at all the softly colored items. 

“Good evening, sir. How may I help you?” a young Omega asked. He had ashen hair and brown eyes, and a beauty mark below his left eye. 

“My friend just had a baby like 3 weeks go, and I’m looking for something to give him that he might be able to use for a while,” Bokuto explained. Utility had to come before all else. 

“Certainly. Well, at that age, there aren’t a lot of toys I’d recommend, so you could always invest in stuffed animals or baby blankets. Clothes are always good too, since babies go through so many outfits a day. Playmats are good for busy moms, and of course, diapers are never a bad gift for new parents,” he said. 

“I’d like to look at playmats please,” Bokuto said, that item catching his attention more than the rest. 

He walked around with the associate and while he said he was only interested in playmats, he couldn’t help but look at baby clothes as well, and ended up buying three outfits for Sousuke as well. 

He carried all the items out to his car and drove back to his condo. On the top floor of a high-rise building, it offered a nice view, and had all the latest amenities. On the bottom floor was the living room, dining area, and kitchen, and stairs led to a top floor which had a bedroom, a bathroom, and an office. 

He set the items on the couch, knowing there was no reason to unpack them when they would just go to Akaashi in a couple of days. Bokuto rested on the other side of his couch and turned on his TV. It was currently turned to the news right now, and he felt his stomach grumble as he watched idly. 

Bokuto groaned aloud, and went to his kitchen to see if there was anything there. 

Inside his fridge were boxed leftovers from a day ago, and he pulled it out to heat it up for dinner. He was really wishing that he could eat some of Akaashi’s food right now, and he looked at his phone to see if he had any missed texts from him. 

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_Can I know what you’re cooking on Friday?_

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_That would ruin the surprise, wouldn’t it?_

He was surprised that Akaashi texted back so fast, since his other messages had gone unanswered. 

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_I guess, but I would like to imagine I’m eating something better than boxed leftovers from a few nights ago._

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_My, you really do eat from restaurants all the time. That doesn’t sound very healthy. Though I’m sure you eat at only the very best._

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_McDonald’s surely likes to think of themselves as the best._

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_…_

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_WHAT? They have great burgers!!_

~*~

Before he knew it, it was Friday, and Akaashi was breathing a sigh of relief as the last child was picked up from the daycare. Strapping Sousuke into his baby carrier wrap, Akaashi left work.

He was running a little late from what he told Bokuto, and hopped on the bus, sending a text that he would be back at his apartment shortly. Just as he was writing the text, Akaashi heard Sousuke hiccup before he spit up all over Akaashi’s front. 

The Omega just stood there with his mouth open wide, and other patrons of the bus just stared at him. He would have to clean it up before Bokuto got there. 

But of course, he wouldn’t be that lucky, because there was a wreck which delayed the bus, so Bokuto was already waiting at his door when he got home. 

“Sorry for the wait, I got off of work late, and then there was a wreck, and Sousuke spit up on me-“

“Woah, woah, woah, it’s okay, just breathe. What can I do to help?” Bokuto said, seeing how frazzled to Omega looked. 

Akaashi ran a hand through his hair. 

“I just need to take a quick shower and change, if you don’t mind waiting?” Akaashi asked, and Bokuto just shook his head. Akaashi looked at the large box that was resting on the Alpha’s shoulder, wrapped in gift wrap and just sighed, walking into the bathroom. 

There, he had a portable baby crib set up that Kenma had got him, and he let Sousuke rest in there as he turned the water on. He went to his bathroom to get a new change of clothes, and set them in the bathroom, closing the door. 

He then hesitated for a moment before choosing to lock it as well. 

Akaashi hadn’t noticed in his frantic state, but he would be naked with virtually a stranger in his house. And that stranger was an Alpha. This wasn’t Kenma, whom he was so close to, but Bokuto, a man that, while he had been on Akaashi’s mind endlessly, still only knew him for a short couple of weeks. 

Not that he really thought Bokuto would do anything unsightly, but he didn’t really know the Alpha. 

However, his worried thoughts disappeared the longer he was in his shower and nothing happened, and when he finished the shower and dressed, he felt his nerves ease completely. He dressed comfortably, in a v-neck t-shirt and some loose-fitting khakis.

Akaashi returned to his living room to see Bokuto on the couch, messing with his phone. 

“Sorry about that, today has been kind of crazy,” Akaashi said, placing Sousuke in his rocker. 

“Tell me about it,” Bokuto said genuinely, and Akaashi was thrown for a bit of a loop. 

“It hasn’t been anything I can’t handle, just a lot of things at once,” Akaashi summed up and opened the fridge to grab the ingredients for dinner. “Sorry, I didn’t have time to start cooking today, but dinner should be ready in a little bit.”

“That’s fine, don’t worry about it!” Bokuto said, going over to Sousuke on his knees and staring wide-eyed at the baby. 

“I meant to ask, what was that box you had?” Akaashi asked as he poured flour, salt, and pepper in one bowl. 

“Oh! I got a present for Sousuke!” Bokuto exclaimed, and Sousuke fussed at the noise. “Sorry Sousuke,” Bokuto whispered. 

Akaashi sighed, putting eggs in the second bowl and mixing them up then putting breadcrumbs in the last bowl. While he waited for the oil on his stove to get hot, he walked around the kitchen island to see the gift. 

“You really didn’t have to. I owe you enough as it is,” Akaashi said. 

“It’s not about who owes who. I just saw it and thought of you and Sousuke, so I had to buy it,” Bokuto responded, and Akaashi felt his heart jump. 

“Well, then, let’s see what it is,” he said, getting on his knees to open the box. When he saw the playmat he nearly started crying, and had to pause to gather himself. 

“Do you not like it?” Bokuto asked, seeing the look on Akaashi’s face. 

“I do. It’s perfect.”

“I also got him some cute outfits. I don’t know much about baby clothes so I just told them how old he was and they told me what size to get.”

At that, tears really did threaten to spill over Akaashi’s cheeks, and the Omega looked upwards to keep them from falling. Curse all these hormones. 

“Thank you, that was very kind of you,” Akaashi said with a choked up voice, and Bokuto looked worried, not meaning to cause such a reaction with his gifts. He awkwardly patted Akaashi’s shoulder. 

“You probably know this already, but I don’t have many people looking out for me to help me with stuff like this, so this means a lot,” Akaashi said, gathering himself and standing. 

Bokuto felt his heartstrings pulled, and he knew that there was something more he would have to do for this Omega. 

“Can I help you with dinner?” Bokuto asked as Akaashi made his way back to the kitchen. He felt his lower back stiffen as he stood and winced, but he would struggle through it. 

“No, you’re a guest, please just wait patiently until it’s ready,” the Omega said, testing the oil and seeing it was done enough for the tempura veggies to go in. 

While he waited on them to fry, he texted Kenma. 

_To: Kozume Kenma_

_He brought me a baby playmat and baby clothes_

_From: Kozume Kenma_

_keep him_

Akaashi couldn’t help but give a warm smile to that. With how much the Alpha had been in his thoughts lately, he was sure he wouldn’t be able to get rid of him. 

“Where do you work?” 

The question broke the silence between them. 

“I work at a daycare,” Akaashi responded. 

“And they made you come back to work so soon after having a baby?” 

Akaashi snorted. 

“Well, they don’t pay for maternity leave, so I didn’t have a choice not to go back,” Akaashi said, a bit coldly. 

While he knew Bokuto meant well, he didn’t expect him to understand what it meant to be living paycheck to paycheck and barely scraping by. He couldn’t afford to take maternity leave for the birth of his own pup. 

“But Sousuke goes with you to work?” Bokuto asked, standing and leaning against the island. 

“Yes, it’s a perk. It’s why I took the job in the first place.” Akaashi turned the vegetables in the oil. 

“Where were you before you worked at the daycare?”

Akaashi’s steely glance shifted to the Alpha, curious to know why he asked so many questions. After a short moment of hesitation, he answered. 

“I was in culinary school.”

“That makes sense! That’s why you cook so well,” Bokuto said, snapping his fingers as if he found out some secret. Akaashi couldn’t help but grin at his enthusiasm, but knew that it would be better to shut down the questioning before Bokuto started asking the wrong kinds of questions. 

“What is your work, Bokuto-san?” Akaashi asked, pulling the tempura pieces from the oil to rest on a paper towel-lined bowl. 

“I’m the regional branch manager for the hospitals in Kanto. I make final decisions on purchasing, expansions, renovations, and communicate with doctors at each hospital to make sure things are being run smoothly,” Bokuto responded a bit lackluster.

“I see. It sounds lucrative.”

“It is, but it’s not very interesting. I love my job, but something with a bit more action would be cool too,” Bokuto sighed. 

Akaashi just hummed in response. 

“So what made you choose the name ‘Sousuke’?” Bokuto asked, and Akaashi couldn’t help but smile fondly. Bokuto was endearing. 

“I’ve always liked the name, and above all, I want him to grow up to be a smart and quick-witted man,” Akaashi said, turning the newest batch of tempura veggies in the oil. 

“So it’s spelled like that…It’s a good name,” Bokuto said. 

Without Akaashi noticing it, the collar of his shirt slipped down, revealing a purpled set of teeth marks around his neck, and when Bokuto saw it, his blood went cold. 

It was a bond mark, which meant that Akaashi was mated. 

Mated couples were connected by law, just like marriages. Proof of a mating mark, or bond, was seen as legally binding for a couple, and if Akaashi was mated to someone, then Bokuto needed to get out of whatever situation he was finding himself in. He didn’t know anything about Akaashi’s past or where the Alpha was that fathered Sousuke. Despite his heart telling him to stay, his mind was telling him to go. 

_To: Kuroo Tetsurou_

_So….Akaashi is mated._

_From: Kuroo Tetsurou_

_Well, we could assume that much. He has a kid, doesn’t he?_

_To: Kuroo Tetsurou_

_I just saw the mark._

_From: Kuroo Tetsurou_

_Maybe they got it annulled, you never know until you ask him._

Bokuto looked up again at the Omega’s back. The mark looked ghastly, as if whatever Alpha had mated with him intended to chew through Akaashi’s shoulder. He stood and walked to the kitchen. 

“Akaashi,” he said gently, “Your, um, neck is showing.”

Akaashi’s eyes widened in terror, and his hand clapped over the bite mark. He looked down. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean for you to see,” Akaashi said, wiping his hands on a dish cloth before returning the one to rest over his bite mark. 

“No, it’s okay, I just need to know if the other Alpha is still around, because if they are, then I should-“

“No!” Akaashi exclaimed, and Bokuto’s eyes widened at hearing him raise his voice. 

“I mean, no, he’s not around anymore. You don’t….have to go,” Akaashi mumbled, sliding his hand down his neck and crossing his arms over his stomach. 

Bokuto could tell by the Omega’s stance and gaze that this was a sensitive subject, so he did what was natural for him to do and he tried to release a calming pheromone. 

“I can tell you don’t want to talk about it. Sorry for bringing it up. But if you ever do need anything, I can help you. We’re friends, right?”

Akaashi nodded, and breathed a sigh. 

“Thank you, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi responded. 

He finished the tempura without any other major developments, and then Akaashi pulled down an item he rarely used, his electric griddle. He rinsed it and set it on the table and pulled out meat and vegetables he had pre-cut and set them on the table. The last bowl he added was the sauce for the grilled foods, and then he brought Bokuto over. 

“Is this yakiniku?!” he exclaimed, and Sousuke whined a little in response. 

“You seem like the kind of guy who would like it,” Akaashi responded, sitting down and picking up his chopsticks. 

“Like it? It’s my favorite food!” Bokuto responded, quickly placing some meats onto the electric griddle. Akaashi couldn’t help but let out a light laugh at Bokuto’s antics. He was a very interesting man. 

Dinner was full of lighter conversation, and when they were done, Akaashi showed Bokuto out. 

“Maybe next time we can have some dessert,” Akaashi suggested, and Bokuto smiled. 

“I’d be down, it’s whatever you want.”

“Okay, I’ll think about it. See you next time, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said and Bokuto waved goodbye to him and Sousuke before leaving. 

When he got in the safety of his own car, he couldn’t help but whoop and cheer.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! So in this chapter it gets a bit _frisky_ but I feel like we've all known what this fanfic was gonna turn out to be. 
> 
> I've noticed some of you have commented about making sure I don't wear myself out and guys, honestly, can't even begin to explain how touched that makes me. Y'all are seriously the best. We aren't quarantined yet, but I am a teacher, so I'm currently not allowed to go back to work, so I'm just making use of my time by finishing up some WIPs!

Two weeks later, on their next scheduled dinner date, Bokuto woke up feeling feverish and out-of breath. 

“Aw, fuck,” he cursed, and looked down, to see a raging erection in between his legs. It was one of the more embarrassing things about himself. He had Erratic Rut Syndrome. 

Normally ruts were only caused by smelling an Omega in heat, in order to ensure higher rates of conception, but some Alphas experienced ruts without the presence of an Omega. It was more of an inconvenience than anything, and if not dealt with, could become horribly painful. It hadn’t happened for a few months now, but typically Bokuto would just get on Heatwave, the most used hook-up app to date, and find someone to blow off some steam with. 

But as he scrolled through Omega candidates on his phone, he felt yucky. Despite the fact that he wasn’t actually dating Akaashi, he didn’t feel like he could sleep with someone else while he was still seeing him, and exited out Heatwave on his phone. 

Which meant he would have to call in work and tell Akaashi that he had to cancel tonight. 

Digging through his bedside drawer, he brought out an elaborate mechanized toy. As a last ditch effort to get himself through ruts, he always had these available. His rut wouldn’t go away until he knotted someone or something, but he knew that usually with these toys, it took him a few times before he was able to get it all out. 

He poured a generous amount of lube into the silicon hole of the toy and slid it over his cock, sighing as he did so. Of course, it didn’t feel as good as pushing in between the tight, wet lips of an Omega in heat, but this would have to do for now, and his hips began moving to a rhythmic pace along with his wrist, which controlled the toy. Without prompting, it started to squeeze around him, mimicking the way an Omega could squeeze around their Alpha, and Bokuto grunted. 

While his mind was blank, the image of Akaashi, panting and wet under him came to his mind, making his knees buckle. 

“Fuck,” Bokuto hissed as he pushed into the toy harder. 

He didn’t have the reasoning to wonder if it was right to think about Akaashi in this way, but that was what his body wanted, so while he fucked a silicon toy, he thought of the dark-haired Omega on his back, knees to his shoulders as Bokuto pushed past his tight rings of muscles. 

_“Fuck me…fill me up,”_ the Akaashi in his mind moaned, and Bokuto panted as sweat dripped off of him. His hand was moving rapidly down the length of his own shaft, and he could feel his climax peaking. 

In his vision, Akaashi’s small breasts bounced at the force that Bokuto pounded him, and he just wanted to reach down and take one in his hand, or his mouth, and to hear the noises that real Akaashi would make under his ministrations. 

The toy tightened around him unexpectedly, and with a low moan, Bokuto spilled into it, his hips shaking as he did so. 

As he waited to come down from the high of his orgasm, he cursed. 

“I’m fucked.”

~*~

_From: Bokuto Koutarou_

_Something came up, We’ll have to reschedule tonight._

Akaashi looked down at the text and wondered why he felt as upset as he did.

He was really starting to enjoy the dinners he had with Bokuto. As connected as he was to Kenma, the other Omega wasn’t keen on babies, and didn’t want to come over as much, and the other Omegas at the daycare were just work friends, he didn’t hang out with them. 

He knew after getting pregnant and dropping out of culinary school his social circle would decline, but he hadn’t realized it would affect him this much. While he was a very introverted man, no one could be alone forever, and even going two weeks without spending time with another adult was taxing. 

_To: Kozume Kenma_

_Want free food? Bokuto-san just cancelled._

_From: Kozume Kenma_

_always omw_

Kenma had always been a bit lazy, and as he got older, that laziness developed into something greater. He was a video game streamer and went to tournaments where he made a lot of money just doing what Kenma did best, but on top of that, he also had an Alpha that paid for his expenses in exchange for certain pictures. 

Yes, Kozume Kenma had a sugar daddy. 

Akaashi wasn’t judging. One bad month and he would seriously be looking at Alphas who might want to invest in him. It wasn’t like he didn’t already have one. 

But he couldn’t think of Bokuto like that. It would only lead to dangerous hoping. 

Kenma would jump at the opportunity for anything free, especially food, and double especially if it was Akaashi’s. 

As he prepared the curry, he made sure to keep an eye on Sousuke. He really was a quiet baby, which could be a blessing and a curse. It meant Akaashi could sleep through the night, but it also meant high anxiety from not being able to hear if anything was wrong. But frequent diaper and food checks helped that. 

Kenma walked into his apartment not 20 minutes later. He was the only other person with a spare key, and he let himself in unceremoniously. 

“I’m here for food,” he said as he plopped himself on the couch. “Why did Bokuto cancel?”

“He said something came up,” Akaashi said as he went to go sit with Kenma. The food didn’t really need watching now as it boiled. 

“Maybe it was his dick,” Kenma deadpanned, and Akaashi couldn’t help but giggle. 

“I doubt it, Kenma. It was probably something with work,” Akaashi commented, looking over to Sousuke. He was laying on the new playmat that Bokuto brought him. It did a good job at keeping his attention while Akaashi had things to do. 

“Is that the thing Bokuto got him,” Kenma asked, nodding to the playmat. 

“Yeah, isn’t it nice?” Akaashi said, leaning on his hands. “Bokuto-san really is a sweet man.”

“Well, then take it to the next step. He hasn’t given you any reason to doubt him. He’s very wealthy. He likes your cooking. He likes your womb spawn. There’s literally no reason to not go after him,” Kenma said exasperatedly. 

“You know why I can’t,” Akaashi sighed. 

“Don’t let that man hold power over you for the rest of your life. And if something happens, Bokuto seems like the type of Alpha who could and would protect you,” Kenma said, pulling out his phone and texting someone. 

Akaashi’s eyes slid over to him. 

If he wasn’t texting Akaashi, then that really only meant he was texting that other man. 

“Maybe I should go for it. I’d just feel bad if he isn’t interested,” Akaashi said. 

“He got Sou-kun a baby play mat and some clothes, and despite being able to eat at the best restaurants for the city, he eats here and loves it. I think it’s safe to say that he’s pretty interested,” Kenma said without missing a beat. He laid down so that his blond hair splayed across Akaashi’s lap and his feet were on the arm of the sofa. 

Akaashi hummed at that. He would store the information away for later. It was still too early to tell. 

The two sat like that in silence for a while before the timer beeped on the stove to let Akaashi know the food was done, and the Omega poured two bowls for them. 

“I have cheesecake when we’re done,” Akaashi said, placing the bowl on the table alongside miso soup and pickled veggies. 

“Why didn’t you lead with that,” Kenma said, digging into his meal.

~*~

With his fourth orgasm out of the way, Bokuto felt the tense coil of his rut leave his chest.

He hated that he had to cancel his plans with Akaashi, but there wasn’t anything that could be done when he was suddenly hit like that. Especially if he wasn’t going to sleep with other people. 

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_Sorry about missing dinner, something came up at work._

Bokuto put his phone on his nightstand and stood on wobbly legs to wash out the toy he had used today. It didn’t take him long since they were meant to be cleaned, and when he walked back to his room, his phone was ringing. 

Akaashi was calling him. 

“Hello?” he greeted, curious as to why the Omega was calling. 

“Good evening. I just figured since we didn’t get to talk tonight, I could give you a call and we could make up for the lost time,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto felt his heart soar. 

“Sure!” Bokuto said as he collapsed on his bed. 

The two spent the rest of the evening talking about everything and nothing, and Bokuto hadn’t realized what time it was until his phone gave him a warning that he had half battery left. 

“Akaashi! It’s midnight!”

“Oh, it looks like we got a bit carried away,” Akaashi said, and by the tone of his voice, Bokuto could tell that he didn’t want to put down the phone either. 

“Hey, how about we do something tomorrow? Since I missed dinner.”

“I don’t know. I’d have to get a babysitter,” Akaashi started. 

“No, bring Sousuke. Let’s go to the park or something,” Bokuto suggested, and he waited with bated breath to hear Akaashi’s response. 

“Okay, that sounds fine with me,” Akaashi responded. 

“Alright, then I’ll come pick you up tomorrow. Is 9 okay?”

“Sounds perfect,” Akaashi breathed, and the way he said it threatened to make Bokuto’s rut return all over again. 

“Then I’ll see you tomorrow at 9,” the Alpha said, hesitating to add “It’s a date” after the sentence, but it seemed like Akaashi was waiting for it too. 

“See you then,” Akaashi responded, before they said their goodbyes and hung up. 

Bokuto hugged his pillow and shut his eyes. He needed to go to sleep immediately so he could wake up and see Akaashi. 

The following morning, Bokuto was giddy to get up and get ready for the day. It took him no time at all to go through his morning routine, and soon he was in the car headed to Akaashi. 

His phone began to ring again and when he looked at the caller ID, he saw it was just the Omega he was thinking about. 

“Good morning!” Bokuto chirped. 

“So, bad news, I forgot I don’t have a car seat,” Akaashi sighed. “So the park may have to wait.”

“I can buy you one. What kind do you need?” Bokuto asked and there was a pause on the phone. 

“I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me so far, but you can’t keep buying stuff for me,” Akaashi said. 

“If you need it, then why not?”

“Because that’s not how the world works. People shouldn’t just hand you things only because you need them,” Akaashi said, and his tone seemed a little pressed. 

Bokuto didn’t know what type of situation Akaashi had been through to give him the perspective that he had to do everything alone. But he wasn’t going to press it, especially if it made the Omega uncomfortable. Bokuto only wished that one day they’d reach a point where it didn’t matter. 

“Well, if you don’t have a car seat, then maybe I could just come over?” Bokuto offered. 

“I don’t know,” Akaashi mumbled, sounding a bit frustrated. 

“It doesn’t matter to me, I would just like to see you,” Bokuto started, before realizing how intimate his wording may have sounded. “You know, because I missed last night, it’d be great to see you now!”

Akaashi let out an amused huff on the other line, and the sound took Bokuto’s breath away. 

“Okay, I will see you in a little while, Bokuto-san.”

They exchanged goodbyes and hung up, and Bokuto breathed a sigh of relief. 

He didn’t want to keep offending Akaashi by offering to buy him stuff he needed, but he couldn’t rest easy knowing that the Omega was left wanting. Something primal within him made him feel like he was doing a bad job as an Alpha, even if he wasn’t Akaashi’s Alpha. 

But he let the thought rest as he pulled up to the Omega’s apartment complex and stepped out of his car. 

Some other residents were mingling on the steps, so Bokuto stepped around them to get to Akaashi’s apartment. It didn’t take long for Akaashi to answer the door once he knocked, and the sight of the Omega filled Bokuto with simplistic joy. 

Akaashi carried Sousuke on his front with a baby carrier, and he stepped out of his apartment, locking to door behind him. 

“I figured we could walk around the block, since it’s such a nice day,” Akaashi suggested, looking up at Bokuto from behind some of the longest lashes the Alpha ever saw. 

“Sounds good to me,” Bokuto chirped, and followed Akaashi’s pace. 

Sousuke’s eyes went to taking in the scenery around him, and Bokuto couldn’t help but stare at him in fascination. 

“He just ate, so he might be a little sleepy,” Akaashi supplied, and Bokuto nodded, smiling at the baby. 

“He’s like, the cutest baby I’ve ever seen.”

Akaashi smiled and looked down at his pup. 

“I think so too,” the Omega said, rubbing Sousuke’s wispy black hair. 

Something in Bokuto’s heart ached to be a part of that. Despite only knowing the Omega for about a month, he had to admit that he had fallen head over heels for Akaashi and his child. Alpha instincts inside of him screamed to protect them at all costs, and Bokuto took a sharp breath in through his nose to combat the rising urge to do _something_.

“Are you alright?” Akaashi asked, noticing a shift in the Alpha’s behavior. 

“Peachy!” Bokuto responded, shoving his hands in his pockets. 

The two of them walked in silence for a while before Akaashi broke it. 

“So how were your meetings yesterday?”

Bokuto looked at the Omega owlishly. 

“What meetings?” 

“I assumed you had meetings or something last night and that’s why you had to miss our dinner,” Akaashi said. 

“Oh, yeah! It wasn’t meetings it was um, a project! To work on expansions to a hospital. I just forgot I had to get it done by last night so I worked all day to get it done.” Bokuto lied, hoping the cover story would be a good enough excuse for the Omega. There was a beat where Akaashi wondered whether to call him on his lie. 

“So you procrastinated?” Akaashi said with a fond smile. “That’s irresponsible.”

The scolding was light, and Bokuto could take it, so he just laughed it off and agreed with the Omega. 

“I’ll do better next time.”

The two of them finished up their walk and returned back to Akaashi’s place. The Omega placed Sousuke into his rocker, and Bokuto’s eyes were drawn to him once more. Akaashi, noticing this, decided to make a bold choice. 

“Did you want to hold him?” 

Bokuto’s head snapped up, and looking like a little child on Christmas, he beamed, nodding. 

“Okay, sit back,” Akaashi directed, picking up the infant and bringing him over to Bokuto. “Curve your arm like this, and make sure you support his head.”

Sousuke whined as he was jostled, and then he was in Bokuto’s arms. The weight of him was unexpected. 

“He’s so small,” Bokuto mumbled, as he looked down at the pup in his arms. 

“Is this your first time holding a baby?” Akaashi asked, sitting beside him on the couch. 

“Yeah.”

The breathless tone of his voice made Akaashi’s heart melt, and Sousuke cooed in Bokuto’s arms. Akaashi gave the infant his finger to grasp and smiled. 

“It’s different smelling an Alpha, huh, Sou?” Akaashi hummed to the baby, and Bokuto’s heart was so full, it was nearly about to explode. 

Sousuke’s wiggling died down, and he yawned in Bokuto’s arms, eyelids slipping shut as he fell asleep. 

“Akaashi, he’s too cute. I might die,” Bokuto said, eyes transfixed on the small life in his arms. 

“Please don’t. I quite enjoy your presence, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, and before Bokuto could even comment on it, Akaashi had moved on. “Though I should probably lay him down in the nest.”

“Right, right,” Bokuto said, carefully extending his arms to the Omega who took Sousuke from him. Bokuto watched Akaashi walk into the other room and let out a shaky sigh. 

He was _so_ fucked.


	5. Chapter 5

All at once, Bokuto’s days were filled with something more to look forward to than just going home. Every two weeks, he could look forward to meeting Akaashi for dinner, and they started meeting up outside of dinner as well. Even if it was just for a walk around the block, Bokuto was happy to meet up with the Omega and just spend time with him. 

“Dude, you’re totally head over heels for this Omega,” Kuroo said blandly, watching Bokuto hum as he worked. 

“I would say I’m not, but then I’d be lying,” Bokuto sighed, letting his chin rest in his hands. “But I don’t think Akaashi is ready for another Alpha. I don’t know many details about the last Alpha he had but it seems like a sore topic.”

Kuroo rested his arms on Bokuto’s desk and placed his head on top of them. 

“Why don’t you just ask? Hasn’t it been a couple of months already? You’re practically dating, and I think it’s worth the conversation.”

Bokuto had thought long and hard about what he and Akaashi actually were. Friends? Something more? There was so much left to speculation, and Bokuto wanted to know everything. Even if things didn’t work out between them, he still wanted to know. 

“I know, I just don’t want to scare him off,” Bokuto sighed. 

“Geez, I need to step up my game and find a nice Omega, or else you’ll leave me behind for the wed and bred life,” Kuroo drawled, leaning back against the chair.

“Don’t worry, I’d never leave you behind,” Bokuto said with a grin. 

They talked about other things pertaining to business, and then Kuroo left, scrolling Heatwave on his phone bemusedly, looking for someone of interest. 

“Stop playing hard to get! I know you want me.”

The sound and smell of an aggressive Alpha from down an alley stopped Kuroo in his tracks, and he pocketed his phone. 

“Ew. No thanks, I just wanted your money,” a soft voice said, and then there was the sound of a hit, and Kuroo took off down the alley. 

“Hey! What’s going on here?” he asked, and he saw an older gentleman with his fist raised against a blond Omega. 

“This doesn’t concern you,” the other Alpha growled, and Kuroo became fired up. 

“Actually it does, see, because I’m an attorney, and I just witnessed first hand the abuse of an Omega, which means when I see your ass in court and testify, I know exactly what to say to get you put in jail,” Kuroo said, taking a step forward and dialing the police on his phone. 

“I’d like to report a crime,” Kuroo said calmly, and the other Alpha looked fearful before running away. Kuroo ran after him, but the Omega on the ground caught his sleeve. 

He gave the operator the location and crouched down by the Omega. 

“Did you know that man?” 

“I didn’t need you to butt in, I had it under control,” the blond said, but his bloodied lip seemed to tell a different story.

“I couldn’t let that bully pick on you,” Kuroo said, and the blond sighed. 

“He was my only source of income for another month,” muttered the blond before standing up. Kuroo’s eyes narrowed. 

“Are you a prostitute?” Kuroo asked, standing up as well. 

“If I were I wouldn’t tell you, Attorney-san,” the blond said, and Kuroo couldn’t argue with that reasoning. “No, he just paid me to send him pictures and stuff.”

Ah, so it was like that. Kuroo knew about people who did things like that. He couldn’t fault them, when one was lonely and had the option of paying for whatever they wanted, why wouldn’t they?

Though there was some legal and moral gray area, especially in cases like this. 

“Well, in the future, you should find an Alpha who won’t beat up on you,” Kuroo said, and from a distance he heard police sirens coming closer. 

The Omega didn’t make any more comments, just stood silently with his arms crossed until the police arrived, and they described what happened.

~*~

Bokuto typically loved gatherings like this, but not when they threatened to make him late for his dinner plans.

One of the hospitals under his care just got a grant for some research into cancer treatments, which meant better facilities and better access for people who were suffering. Of course, the higher-ups had to throw a party, and people even gave him gifts as if Bokuto really did anything. 

“Koutarou, I’m proud of you, son,” a broad-shoulder man with dark hair beamed. 

“Thanks, dad, but all I really did was apply for the grant. It’s all the staff at Teru General that made it possible for them to earn it,” Bokuto said, and his father threw an arm around him. 

“Don’t be so modest, you’ve helped out big time since you’ve been here. I have a gift for you,” his father said, walking to a fridge on the other side of the room and pulling out a wooden box. 

“What’s this?” Bokuto asked. 

“Wagyu beef. A real man’s meal. I’ll hire someone to cook it up for you whenever you want,” his father said. Though Bokuto had other plans in mind. 

“Don’t worry about it dad, I have a friend who could do something with this,” he said, taking the beef. 

His father furrowed his eyebrows. 

“Tetsurou cooks?”

“No, dad, a new friend,” he said, and realized that he hadn’t really talked to his father about Akaashi at all. He’d have to fill him in later. 

His father looked at him for a moment before smiling. 

“Could that be the friend you’re so desperately willing to leave here for?” his father asked knowingly, and Bokuto couldn’t help but look a bit sheepish. 

“Well, don’t keep them waiting, have fun!”

Bokuto groaned, but took his father’s advice to leave, dialing Akaashi’s number before he was even out of the room. 

“Hello, Bokuto-san,” the Omega said when he answered the phone. 

“Hey! Akaashi, have you started cooking yet?” Bokuto asked excitedly. 

“Not yet, I just got home. Why?”

Bokuto felt his excitement raise. 

“Because I have a gift for you! You can cook it instead!”

There was a pause on the other end of the phone. 

“What is it?”

Bokuto hesitated on whether he should wait to see the surprise on the Omega’s face, or if he should just tell him now. 

“Bokuto-san, I don’t know how to prepare for a meal if you don’t tell me what I’m cooking,” Akaashi said.

“It’s wagyu beef!” 

“Wagyu- where did you get something like that?” Akaashi asked, sounding a bit shocked. 

“From this party thing I was just at, but nevermind that, can you cook it?” Bokuto asked. 

“I can.”

“Great,” Bokuto said, “then I’ll see you in a little while!”

They exchanged goodbyes before hanging up, and Bokuto giddily made his way to his car to head straight to Akaashi’s apartment. It didn’t take too long to get there, and when he did, he bolted up the stairs and knocked excitedly on the door. 

The Omega opened it, and Bokuto pushed the box into his hands. 

“I didn’t miss your birthday, did I?” Akaashi asked, setting the beef down on the counter. 

“Oh, no, my birthday is in September, this was a party because of a grant that got accepted at one of the hospitals,” Bokuto said as he leaned against the couch. As per usual of when Akaashi was preparing food, Sousuke was on his playmat, grasping at the dangling toys. Deciding he’d rather be with Sousuke instead of in Akaashi's way, the Alpha laid down on the ground with the baby, giving him his finger to hold and tickling his stomach. 

“Well, congratulations,” Akaashi said as he moved around the kitchen. Rice had already been put on and vegetables were baking in the oven, now all he had to tackle was the steak. “Did you want sake with your meal?”

“Sake?”

“Yeah, I can’t drink it, but you could certainly have some. This meal befits it,” Akaashi said, pulling it down from a cabinet above the refrigerator. 

“Sure,” Bokuto said from where he was on the ground. Akaashi turned to look at them and smiled before returning to his work. 

It didn’t take very long for Akaashi to cook the beef, and once dinner was ready, he set plates down on the table, and a cup of sake for Bokuto. 

“Thank you for the food!” Bokuto said before digging in, eager to taste such a highly sought out steak. The meat seemed to melt in his mouth and the natural flavor was heavenly. “That’s good beef.”

“I’ve always wanted to cook wagyu, thank you for giving me the chance,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto felt his heart skip. 

“I immediately thought of you when I got it. I knew you’d be able to make something good of it,” Bokuto said. 

As they ate and chatted, Bokuto drank, and before long there was a pleasant but hazy fog over his senses. The meal was delicious, and sated with perfect company, Bokuto could feel any happier. 

He watched as Akaashi put all the dishes away, and when the Omega felt his eyes on him, he smiled lightly. 

“What is it?” Akaashi asked, and Bokuto felt his head spin with everything he could say to the Omega. 

“You’re-“ _beautiful_ , “amazing,” the Alpha said, leaning his head in his hand. “You’re overcoming so many hardships and working, and a kickass mom, and an awesome chef, you’re-“ _perfect_ , “just an amazing guy.”

“You’re drunk,” Akaashi concluded as he washed dishes. 

“Maybe a little,” Bokuto responded, and stood, a little wobbly, to walk towards the couch. He wanted to watch Sousuke. He was a few months old now, and was starting to grab at toys and be a little more active, though he was still a relatively quiet baby. 

Akaashi, when he finished with the dishes, took the sake bottle, and seeing that it was mostly empty, brought it to Bokuto. 

“Finish it,” he said, and Bokuto tilted back his head to let the contents of the bottle pour down his throat. Akaashi sat with him on the couch and took the bottle, placing it on the floor. He’d clean it up later. 

Questions about Sousuke’s father were eating away at Bokuto. They had been eating away at him since he first met Akaashi, but now, with his reservations a little loosened, he found he was asking questions he desperately wanted to know the answer to without thinking. 

“So, where is Sousuke’s father?”

Akaashi tensed up at the question, and Bokuto looked over to him. 

“I’m sorry, you don’t have to tell me-“

“Probably Europe,” Akaashi shrugged. “He worked for a pharmaceuticals company and went to develop a new drug or something.”

He could tell by Akaashi’s body language that he didn’t want to talk about it, but Bokuto had to know. He had to know if there was any chance for him with the Omega, and so he pushed his luck a little more. 

“He left you alone, even though you were carrying a pup?” 

“He doesn’t know about Sousuke,” Akaashi sighed, avoiding looking at Bokuto by gluing his eyes to the baby. 

There were hundreds more questions swirling in Bokuto’s head, but he didn’t know how to get them all out, so he opened and closed his mouth like an awkward fish out of water, and Akaashi looked at him with another sigh. 

“My old Alpha wasn’t a very good man. At first he seemed gentle and nice. He helped me get into culinary school and made sure I didn’t want for anything, but after a few years, he started to get…intense.”

Bokuto listened intently as Akaashi spoke. The Omega put his arms around himself as he continued. 

“We had decided to wait until marriage until we mated, but he got pushier and pushier about it, and when I kept telling him no, he started to…” Akaashi paused as he seemed to gather his strength. “He started to hit me.”

Bokuto’s heart shattered for the Omega, and conflicting emotions of sorrow and rage built up inside of him. How anyone could be moved to put their hands on another person, especially someone as amazing as Akaashi, behooved him. And he felt guilt for making Akaashi bring all this up. 

“I’m so sorry, Akaashi. You don’t have to talk about it anymore if you don’t want to,” Bokuto said, wanting to place a comforting hand on the Omega, but thinking better of it.   
Akaashi shook his head and took a deep, shuddering breath. 

“I need to tell you,” Akaashi started before taking another pause. “He replaced my heat suppressants and mated with me when I had my heat. Shortly afterwards he was called to Europe, so I took the opportunity to move away. I dropped out of culinary school and started working at a daycare, because I knew without his help I’d need to find a way to take care of Sousuke on my own.”

Bokuto hadn’t known Alphas could be so cruel, and as he watched Akaashi barely keep himself together, he knew that he would have to protect him. He hadn’t known when he first helped him out that their lives would become so inexplicably tangled, but to abandon the Omega now would mean to cast off all the good that resided in Bokuto’s heart. 

“Akaashi, I’m so sorry that happened to you. If I could change it for you, I would. Please know that no matter what happens, I will always be here to support you. You don’t owe me anything. And while I know it may be hard to rely on me, after someone so important to you disappointed you, I will show you that you can trust me,” Bokuto said earnestly, and Akaashi gasped lightly, before his bottom lip wobbled dangerously. 

Slowly, he moved to hide his face in Bokuto’s shoulder, and gently, Bokuto raised his hands to encircle to Omega in a hug. The touch was nice, though Bokuto wished it were on different circumstances. He did his best to release soothing pheromones and resisted the urge to scent the Omega, holding absolutely still and letting Akaashi make all the first moves. 

Akaashi refused to cry in front of Bokuto, but tucked into his shoulder, if a few tears did escape, then no one would have to know.

When he had calmed down somewhat, Akaashi turned to look at Sousuke. 

“I wouldn’t trade him for the world, though,” the Omega mumbled, and Bokuto knew he was talking about his pup. 

Bokuto nodded, and started rubbing soothing circles on Akaashi’s back. They stayed like that in silence for a long time, neither one making any move to leave their embrace, or take it to another level. Both were just content in stasis. 

After what felt like hours, Akaashi looked up at Bokuto. 

“Are you good to drive? Do you need to stay here?” Akaashi asked, and Bokuto tried not to think about how close their faces were. 

“I probably shouldn’t risk driving,” Bokuto said truthfully. “Sorry to impose.”

Akaashi shook his head and sat up, pulling away from the Alpha. 

“No, I’m sorry that all I have for you is a couch. Let me get you some blankets,” the Omega said, standing up. He picked up Sousuke, who was sleeping soundly on the floor, and took him to the nest, and when he returned, he had pillows and some blankets. 

“Thank you,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi nodded. 

“Let me know if you need anything,” the Omega said, before walking towards his bedroom. 

“Akaashi,” Bokuto called out, before realizing he didn’t need to push things too far. But the Omega turned around and waited patiently for Bokuto to finish what he needed to say.   
“Good night,” the Alpha said sheepishly. 

Akaashi knew there was something else on his mind, but he let it be. 

“Good night.”


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It all goes downhill from here, y'all. 
> 
> Or uphill. Depends on your fancy. 
> 
> I will say that shit starts getting raunch, and it will probably stay raunch, so for those of you who aren't into the smut content, I apologize because it just keeps spiraling. I take responsibility for not having tagged it at the get-go and getting anyone falsely invested. I can separate the rauch bits with asterisk, but no guarantee that you won't miss something important going forward. 
> 
> Bokuto had his turn, now it's Akaashi's!! And there's DEVELOPMENT

Bokuto woke up with a sore neck and a happy heart. The first thing he smelled was breakfast, and under that, was the faint scent of Akaashi from the pillows and blankets he gave him. 

He stretched and stood up, a bit uncomfortable from having to sleep in his work clothes. 

“Good morning, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said. 

“Good morning,” Bokuto responded with sleep still in his voice. “And good morning, Sousuke,” Bokuto said, leaning down to the baby in the rocker and wiggling his finger in front of his face. 

“I hope western breakfast is fine,” Akaashi said, as Bokuto made his way into the kitchen. 

“As long as there’s meat, I’m good with whatever you cook,” he said lazily, resisting the urge to wrap his arms around the Omega. They may have taken a step in their relationship, but the step hadn’t been that great. 

“The bathroom’s open if you need to freshen up. I have spare toothbrushes in the cabinet,” Akaashi said, and Bokuto nodded before walking to the bathroom. 

Akaashi already changed and fed Sousuke, so he was good for a little while, and the Omega focused on breakfast. 

When Bokuto returned, he looked a little livelier, and sat down at the table. 

“So, what’s your favorite color?”

Akaashi looked up at him. 

“I don’t know. I haven’t thought about something like that in a while,” he responded, but Bokuto started with rapt interest at however he was going to answer, so Akaashi thought of something. 

“Blue.”

“What’s your favorite song?”

“What is this? 20 questions?” Akaashi asked, turning over the bacon in the pan. 

“I want to know more about you,” Bokuto admitted, and the small statement made Akaashi’s heart squeeze. 

“You already know plenty about me. What about you? What’s your best friend’s name?”

“Kuroo Tetsurou. We’ve been together since we were kids!” 

“Interesting. I have Kozume Kenma. We’ve been best friends since high school.”

Bokuto hadn’t really noticed before, but Akaashi was wearing pajamas. Not cute matching pajamas or anything, but sweat pants and a large t-shirt had to be something like pajamas. It was the most casual he’d ever seen the Omega. 

“Hey, Akaashi?”

“Do you have another question for me,” the Omega said with a hint of joking in his voice. 

“I like you.”

Akaashi dropped the bacon into the pan in his surprise and the oil splashed and hit him, causing him to recoil.

“What?” 

Bokuto didn’t know if he could say it again, but if he didn't, he feared he would lose his chance. Bokuto didn't like worrying around a situation, and he was an ambitious person who preferred to just rip the band-aid off. 

“I like you,” he repeated, and Akaashi’s heart thundered in his ears. He was staring at the Alpha, who looked just as afraid as he was, nothing like a confident and aggressive Alpha should be. He was gentle and a little hesitant, and Akaashi knew it was because he treasured him and was afraid to ruin what they were already building. 

He knew because he felt the same way. 

“I…like you too, Bokuto-san,” he said, wiping at the spot on his arm that was splashed. It wasn’t going to blister or anything, and barely hurt now. 

The confession seemed to ease Bokuto’s worries, and a large smile crept across his face. The Alpha stood and wrapped his arms around Akaashi, who smiled as well. 

“I know it may be hard to rely on me, but I will show you that you can trust me,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi patted him on the back. 

“You said that last night, Bokuto-san,” the Omega said fondly, and Bokuto let him go, still beaming. 

“Right.”

The two ate breakfast in a giddy silence, and when Bokuto had to leave, there was an awkward moment at the door. Akaashi took his free arm that wasn’t holding Sousuke and used it to hug the Alpha, and that was good enough to send him on his way. 

Alone in his apartment, Akaashi cradled his pup and sunk to the floor. 

“What have I gotten myself into?” he said to himself. Sousuke just stared at him with dark eyes and blinked lazily.

~*~

Nothing really changed about their relationship after the confession. Bokuto assumed Akaashi wasn’t ready for anything too serious and was planning on letting him make the first moves. The Omega, still worried about Bokuto’s nature, was cautious.

They still had dinner, and texted, and sometimes even called each other, but nothing went past occasional brushes of hands or the affectionate tousling of hair. 

Nevertheless, Bokuto still held out hope, and just like that another month passed. 

Sitting at his desk, typing away at reformed guidelines policy, he heard a knock at his door. He looked up to see his father, and he stood to greet him. 

“Dad, what are you doing down here?” Bokuto asked affectionately. 

“I noticed a suspicious charge on your company account from a few months ago at Kikujin. Was there something I needed to know?” 

“Oh, yeah, that,” Bokuto said a bit nervously, realizing he had yet to tell his father anything. So he started at the beginning of the story, and outlined everything until now. 

His father gaped at the details and at the end of the recounting, took a moment to let everything sink in. 

“How do you know this Omega isn’t just using you for your money?” he asked. 

“Dad! Akaashi isn’t like that,” Bokuto gasped. “He doesn’t even take my help when I offer it.”

His father stared at him for a moment. 

“Alright, son. As long as you’re making smart choices and taking care of yourself, there’s nothing I can really say. Just be careful, alright?” he said, and Bokuto nodded. “And if this Omega is the real deal, bring him and the pup over for dinner sometime. He sounds like he could cook something amazing.”

Bokuto beamed at the idea of getting to show Akaashi off as his father left. 

“Absolutely!”

He picked up his phone to text the Omega, when it started ringing in his hand instead. 

“Yo, Akaashi, what’s up?”

There was a moment of silence on the phone, and Bokuto pressed it closer to his ear. Faintly, he could hear the Omega breathing into the receiver. 

“Akaashi?” 

_“Bokuto-san, I need help,”_ he said weakly, in a strained voice. Bokuto felt like a bucket of ice water had been poured on him as he listened intently. 

“What can I do?” he asked. He didn’t receive an answer for a while and instead heard a high-pitched whine. 

“Akaashi, are you in _heat_?!” Bokuto asked in a frenzied whisper, not wanting anyone at the office to hear. “I can’t help you if you’re in heat!”

_“You’re the only one that can help,”_ Akaashi choked out. 

He hadn’t heard the Omega sound so broken, and it opened the floodgates to something primal inside of him. He weighed his options. 

Bokuto knew that if he went to Akaashi now, the possibility of him being able to control himself would be absolutely zero. There was no way he could knot the Omega in good conscious after being told what happened to him the last time he was in a heat. 

But he also knew that Akaashi would struggle with his heat for the next week unless it was taken care of. And if Akaashi’s heat was strong, he might not even be able to take care of Sousuke. 

“What about…um…..Komei?”

_“Kozume?”_ Akaashi breathed. 

“Yeah, what if he helped you?” 

_“Kenma can’t-“_ his words were choked off by a low moan, and Bokuto felt his pants get tighter. 

“He has to, Akaashi, I can’t go to you right now,” Bokuto bargained. There was another moment of silence on the phone. 

_“Do you not want to?”_

“Akaashi, _god_ , I want to, but I can’t do that to you. I wouldn’t be able to control myself and I might hurt you,” Bokuto said, rubbing his temples. There was no response from the other line, and Bokuto commended himself on his rational thinking. 

_“Give me Kenma’s number,”_ he said, and Akaashi moaned again. 

“Yes,” he said in response to the command, and moments later, contact info for Kozume Kenma showed up on his phone. 

“Stay on the line, I’m going to get Kenma to help you,” Bokuto said, switching calls to Kenma. 

The first time didn’t answer, so he tried again, and when that didn’t answer, he tried a third time. 

_“Kozume,”_ Kenma answered flatly. 

“Hey, it’s Bokuto, we have a little bit of a situation with Akaashi,” Bokuto said. 

_“Ah, the famous Bokuto-san. What’s wrong?”_ Kenma said. 

“Akaashi is in heat,” the Alpha said. 

_“Doesn’t sound like a problem you need me for. Just do what every other Alpha does and knot him,”_ Kenma said with exasperation, and Bokuto thought that Kenma was a bit blunt. 

“I can’t do that. So I need you to take care of him and Sousuke.”

_"I’ll take care of Keiji, but I’m not watching the baby. I don't know the first thing about them, and we don't get along,”_ Kenma responded, and Bokuto felt his temper flare. Didn’t Kenma realize this was a serious situation?

"Okay, hold on," Bokuto said, switching calls back to Akaashi. "Akaashi?"

The Omega hummed an affirmative. 

"Kenma said he can help you, but that he couldn't watch Sousuke. Should I take him?" Bokuto asked, and Akaashi let out a weak growl. 

_"B-but..."_ he started, before he took a moment. _"Yes."_

Bokuto had no idea what was going through Akaashi's mind, but he switched the call back to Kenma. 

“I can take care of Sousuke, then,” Bokuto told Kenma. 

_“I’ll talk to Keiji. In the meantime, gather some shirts and pillows and stuff and bring them over to Keiji’s place,”_ Kenma said, and without saying bye, he hung up.   
His call was reconnected with Akaashi, who was moaning and panting on the other end. 

“Akaashi, listen. Kenma will call you, I need you to answer the phone.” And after he spoke, there was silence on the other end of the line. Bokuto sighed, and gathered his things to leave. He would need to get out now if he hoped to take the items to Akaashi’s apartment in a timely manner. He hung up his line of the phone and made it to his apartment, where he gathered shirts and pillows, just like Kenma said. 

He knew that even stepping foot into Akaashi’s apartment would test his resolve, but he just needed to grab Sousuke, and maybe some of Sousuke’s things if Kenma had gotten to Akaashi first and had laid them out. 

When Bokuto got to Kenma’s apartment, he took a deep breath and knocked on his door. 

A two-toned blond Omega answered, with critical eyes, and Bokuto realized this must be Kenma. Kenma pulled him into the apartment quickly, and shut the door. 

“Are those the things for Keiji?” Kenma asked, and Bokuto nodded, still holding his breath. 

“Sousuke is on the mat, let me go get you some of his things.”

Bokuto stood there, holding his breath, and picked up the infant. He was fussing a little, looking as if he were about to cry, and Bokuto gave him his finger to hold. 

From the other room he could hear Akaashi in the throws of his heat, and the wanton sounds coming from his mouth were delectable to his ears. 

But he had to have self-control, he had to show Akaashi that he could trust him. 

Bokuto ran out of air waiting on Kenma, and took a deep gasping breath. The overwhelming scent of Akaashi’s heat made his knees buckle, and he felt a stirring in his lower abdomen as his Alpha instincts whispered to him. He held his breath, the scent lingering in his nose. Sousuke whined in his arms, and it grounded Bokuto slightly, concern for the pup distracting him from the slovenly Omega in heat. 

Kenma came back with a large bag. 

“Okay, there’s diapers, wipes, and baby clothes here, but you’re going to have to go get some stuff on your own,” Kenma said, and Bokuto nodded. “Now, go.”

Bokuto exited the apartment and with the fresh air he could breathe again. Of course, everything he carried smelled like Akaashi, crisp and sweet, but it wasn’t choking him with how overpowering it was. Carefully he walked down the steps with Sousuke and his bag of things, and when he got to his car he realized his first problem. 

He didn’t have a car seat.

~*~

“Dude, you smell like shit,” Kuroo said when he stepped out of his car with the box in tow.

It hadn’t taken long for Bokuto to call the other Alpha and ask him for a favor, and Bokuto stood with the infant in his hands as he waited for his best friend to deliver the necessary item. 

“I don’t think I smell that bad,” Bokuto said, as Kuroo opened the box and pulled out the car seat. 

“Don’t get me wrong, I like the scent of any Omega in heat, but you smell like you just rolled in his scent glands or something,” Kuroo said. 

“I wish,” Bokuto huffed, and Kuroo grinned at him. 

“Nothing stopping you from turning around and helping him yourself, Bo,” the Alpha said, and Bokuto sighed. 

“I’m stopping myself. The last time he had a heat…” he stopped, realizing that it wasn’t his business to tell. “It wasn’t good. And I wouldn’t be in control of myself if I had stayed.”

“Well, he’s got a strong one, so I understand why you would worry about that,” Kuroo said, finally removing the car seat from its box and placing it in Bokuto’s car. “Now let’s get this strapped in.”

Sousuke had calmed down since they had stepped outside, so he was wondering if the pup was reacting to Akaashi’s anxiety about his heat. Bokuto could smell it too, in the moment he took a breath inside the apartment, that Akaashi was beyond scared about going into another heat. He just hoped it would blow over quickly and that Kenma could help him. 

Until then, he would play babysitter. 

Bokuto tucked Sousuke into the car seat and placed his bag on the other seat. 

“I’m still going to need to go buy a lot of stuff. Wanna go with me?” Bokuto asked, and Kuroo clicked his tongue. 

“Do I wanna go baby shopping with a grown Alpha for a baby that doesn’t belong to either of us?” Bokuto made a pleading face and Kuroo groaned. 

“You know I can’t say no when you make that face.”

Bokuto cheered and went around to the drivers seat. 

“While we’re driving, can you check to see what’s in the bag?” Bokuto asked, and Kuroo reached back in the back and started unpacking the large bag. 

“Looks like some sort of sling thing. Two packages of baby wipes, some diapers, and like, 5 changes of clothes,” Kuroo said, and Bokuto nodded. 

“Alright, that sling thing must be a baby carrier, we’ll need it for the store,” and Bokuto headed towards the only place he knew that sold baby gear. 

The same boutique he had stopped at nearly a month ago was still open, and he unclipped Sousuke from his car seat and placed him in the baby carrier. 

When the two of them walked in, Bokuto immediately found the associate he’d worked with before and bee-lined over to him. 

“Hi, how can I help you?” the ashen haired man said. 

“I need, like, everything for taking care of a baby,” Bokuto said, and the associate looked between the two. 

“Okay, so you’ll need to start with cribs or nests, how old is the baby?” 

Bokuto did some quick math in his head. 

“About 4 months,” Bokuto said. 

“And you’re just now buying necessities?” The store associate asked with a raised eyebrow. 

“He’s sorta become an emergency babysitter for a few days, and his house isn’t decked out with all the baby stuff,” Kuroo supplied, and the associate nodded. 

“Well, would you want a crib or are you planning on building a nest?”

“Crib, please,” 

“I recommend this one,” the associate said, pointing at a crib. “The included mattress is a snug fit to the crib, and it is large enough for children up to 3 years old, so there’s growing room. The slats are only-“

“Done, we’ll get it,” Bokuto interrupted. “What else do I need?”

“Are you breastfeeding or using formula?” the associate asked while scanning the barcode on the crib using a scanner around his neck. 

Bokuto looked at Kuroo who just shrugged. 

“I think he’s breast-feeding, but obviously I can’t do that, so I need formula,” Bokuto said, and the associate lifted the box to bring it to the front of the store. 

“Formula is going to be over here. Now I suggest this brand, as it has the most nutrients you can buy, and is the closest replacement to breastmilk. It is also shown to be safest on a baby’s tummy.”

“Awesome, how much of it should I buy for a week?”

“One box should be fine,” the associate asked. 

“Sugawara?” Kuroo read off his nameplate. “You really know your stuff.”

“Of course!” the Omega chirped, scanning the formula and picking up the box to bring it to the front. “We work hard to ensure happy and healthy babies.”

“What else do I need?” Bokuto asked. 

“How many diapers do you have?” Sugawara asked in return. 

“About 6,” Kuroo responded, since he counted them from the bag. 

“That might last you two days. I’d get a box of those as well. This brand should do,” Sugawara said, pulling a box of diapers from the shelf. 

“Done. What else?”

They continued on like this, buying a diaper changing station, about 12 more baby outfits and 10 bibs, as well as another playmat, some other toys, baby blankets, baby bottles, and stuffed animals. 

“Your total will be ¥107,200. Do you have a loyalty card with us?” Sugawara asked. The other man at the register smiled at them and moved aside to let Sugawara do the purchase.

“No, but can I set one up?” 

“Sure, just fill out your information on the pin pad,” Sugawara chirped. 

After they finished that, Sugawara redid their totals. 

“That brought your total down to ¥965,00.”

“Uh, bro, how are we going to fit all this stuff in your car?” Kuroo asked, and Bokuto realized with horror that they definitely bought too much at once. 

“If you need, we can place it in our truck and have one of our drivers follow you and hep you unload for an additional ¥5,000,” Sugawara offered. 

“That’d be perfect please,” Bokuto said, and Sugawara went ahead and tacked on the adage. 

“Paying with cash or card?” he asked. 

“Card.”

“Just insert or swipe when it lets you know,” he said, coming out from behind the counter and talking to the other man in the store. 

Bokuto went through with his payment and the other two associates returned. 

“Daichi here is going to start loading all your things onto the truck and he should be able to follow you to your destination. Is there anything else I can get for you?” Sugawara asked with a radiant smile. 

“Not that I can think of. You’ve been such a help,” Bokuto sighed, and Sugawara’s eyes went down to the baby in the baby carrier. 

“And you’ve just been such a trooper! Normally babies will start getting a little fussy after a while but you’ve just been a perfect little angel,” Sugawara cooed at Sousuke. “What’s the name?”

“Sousuke.”

“What an excellent name, I hope he grows into it,” Sugawara said, and as if he knew he was being talked to, Sousuke wiggled. 

Once the other store associate Daichi got their items loaded, Bokuto and Kuroo walked out to the front and put Sousuke in his car seat. He started gurgling and wiggling, and when Bokuto checked, his diaper was full. 

“We’re going to have to have a diaper change once we get back to the apartment,” Bokuto said. 

“Dude, what is Akaashi going to said when he hears you dropped a grand on his pup?” Kuroo asked, holding the car’s ceiling handle as they pulled off. 

“I won’t tell him if I don’t have to.”

They arrived to Bokuto’s condo, and Kuroo and Daichi worked to unpack the truck, while Bokuto carried the bag from Akaashi’s and other bags from the truck. 

The crib was the first priority to set up once they unloaded, and Daichi was kind enough to stay and help make sure they were doing what they were supposed to. Bokuto also didn’t have any tools in his apartment, so they needed Daichi’s toolbox from the truck. 

Once the crib was assembled, they laid down Sousuke, and Kuroo and Daichi went to work assembling the baby changing table while Bokuto organized all the other baby stuff he had. 

Soon his apartment looked like it was fit for an actual baby to live there. 

“Thank you for your help, man,” Bokuto said to Daichi, shaking his hand. 

“No problem, if you need anything else, don’t hesitate to give us a visit,” Daichi said, before leaving. 

“Well, now you’re baby-ready,” Kuroo said, and Bokuto walked up the stairs to the bedroom to go get Sousuke and change him. “But it looks like you got it handled, so I’ll just go.”  
Bokuto poked his head out from the office door where they set the crib up. 

“Okay, thanks for your help, Tetsu!” Bokuto said.

“No problem,” he said before walking out of the apartment, calling an Uber to take him back to his car. 

So now it was just Bokuto and Sousuke. 

After spending nearly 15 minutes trying to change his diaper, he sat with him on the floor with the playmat. 

“How are you so tiny?” Bokuto asked, staring at his little hands. He gave him his finger, and the infant immediately tried to pull the digit to his mouth. 

“No, no, don’t do that,” he laughed, and he felt his phone ringing. Checking the caller ID, he saw it was Kenma, and he answered a bit hesitantly. 

“Hello?”

_“Hello. Keiji is a little more lucid so he wanted to talk to you,”_ Kenma said, and Bokuto wondered why the Omega couldn’t just call him with his phone. 

_“Bokuto-san?”_

“Hey, Akaashi, how are you feeling?” Bokuto asked gently, reaching over to tickle Sousuke’s stomach. 

_“Not very good, but much better than earlier, thank you,”_ he responded, and then there was an awkward silence. 

_“I’m sorry about earlier,”_ Akaashi said, and Bokuto smiled. 

“It’s alright. I know you can’t really control stuff like that.”

He heard Akaashi hum in agreement. 

_“Thank you for taking Sousuke. Though I can’t tell you how nervous it makes me that he’s not here,”_ the Omega said, and Bokuto tried his best to understand. He wasn’t a mother, so there was no way he could understand where Akaashi was coming from, but he could see it from an outside perspective. He had only known Bokuto for four months, and now he was watching his child for a whole week. It was an insane leap of faith. 

“I know you probably would’ve been more comfortable with Kenma watching him there, but he expressed how he felt on that front from the get-go,” Bokuto said a bit nervously. He didn’t want Akaashi to hate him or think he was taking his child. “But as soon as you’re feeling 100% he’ll be back in your arms and be the happiest baby ever.”

_“Thank you,”_ Akaashi mumbled. _“How is he doing?”_

“He’s fine. I just spent forever trying to figure out how to change his diaper, but I got it. I’m about to feed him here in a bit.”

_“What kind of formula did you get?”_

Bokuto proceeded to read the name and label of everything he bought for Sousuke, knowing that it probably helped ease Akaashi’s worry to know exactly what he was being exposed to. 

_“I’m indebted to you Bokuto-san,”_ Akaashi said, and Bokuto huffed. 

“Stop that, I already told you that there’s no more of that. I said I’d help take care of you guys, right? This is me helping. I _want_ to do this.”

_“Well, thank you,”_ Akaashi said. 

“Hey, can I ask you a question? Why didn’t you just call me with your phone?”

There was a moment of silence on the other end. 

_“Kenma is using it to cancel an appointment I had this week.”_

Bokuto was curious, but didn’t need to ask anymore questions. 

“Feel free to call whenever you can. I’m taking the week off of work so I can watch Sousuke, so I should be able to answer,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi hummed. 

_“Talk to you later, Bokuto-san,”_ Akaashi said, before hanging up. 

Bokuto took a deep, shuddering breath. Talking to Akaashi made him remember what he had sounded like just hours earlier that day, and the cloyingly sweet smell of his heat. He was lucky he didn’t go into a rut, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t affected. Sitting low in his loins was a fiery feeling churning and twisting, just begging for him to do something about it. 

But he couldn’t think about that right now. 

“Let’s feed you and put you to bed, Sousuke.”

~*~

***

It was like just hearing Bokuto’s voice made his heat ignite, and the hormones that clouded his judgement earlier flooded his senses and he let out a soft whine.

“Again? Your heats are really bad,” Kenma sighed, handing him one of Bokuto’s pillows. Akaashi slumped over on the bed with it pressed against his nose, soaking up every last olfactory drop that he could of the Alpha’s scent. Kenma then stood up and left the room, and distantly Akaashi felt bad and a little embarrassed that the other Omega had to see him like this, but if he could control it, he definitely would have. 

He held off from touching himself until the heat became unbearable and slick was coating the inside of his thighs, then with one hand he pushed two fingers past his swollen lips, plunging them into his wet and hungry hole. With the scent of Bokuto in his nose and something filling him, he purred and moaned, rocking back on his fingers until those couldn’t sate him. 

Unsatiated and desperate, he clawed at the mattress, reaching for the dildo he had used earlier. It slipped inside of him like a knife through butter, and he shivered, imagining strong hands on his hips and a hot, fleshy cock between his lips instead of silicon. 

He wanted to know just exactly what it would look like for Bokuto to lose control, and he shoved the length of the dildo inside of him faster and faster, greedily taking it all as he felt the slick streak down his thighs. 

“Bokuto-san,” he moaned, the Alpha’s name a chorus on his lips as he fucked himself closer and closer to a much needed orgasm. He took his own cock in his hand and began stroking it, feeling all at once overstimulated and unfulfilled. 

He could feel his climax coming, and with his ass high in the air with the blue dildo sliding in and out, and his hand fisting his own cock, he choked on a sob. One sharp inhale of Bokuto’s scent was all it took to send him tumbling over the edge. The orgasm was weak and unsatisfying, but he could feel the heat gradually reducing. 

He didn’t know if he could take 6 more days of this. 

And after day 4, Bokuto’s scent was swallowed up by Akaashi’s heat, and it took more and more to reach the needed point for him to orgasm.

***

_From: Kozume Kenma_

_youre going to have to send more shirts and stuff_

The text came as a surprise to Bokuto. He couldn’t believe that the 5 items he had sent were already unusable. But he packed another bag, and put Sousuke in the baby carrier to head to Akaashi’s house. 

He was worried for the Omega. From what he could tell, his heat was pretty severe, and he wasn’t sure if Akaashi could last a whole week. They weren’t really meant to last a full week because ideally, an Alpha would've taken care of it by now.

When he pulled up to the apartment, it only took seconds for the door to be answered when he knocked. Kenma quickly reached for the bag and slammed and locked the door again without saying a word. While Bokuto thought the behavior a little rude, he understood when he caught a whiff from inside the apartment and the smell nearly brought him to his knees. 

At such a high concentration, it was easy to tell that Akaashi’s original scent had been more rustic, and smelled like grass or fresh rain, crisp but earthy. Having a pup added a hint of sweetness to his scent that smelled of heavy cream or vanilla. 

If Bokuto could save a scent in his memory forever, that was the one he wanted. 

He couldn’t ever remember being attracted to an Omega the way he as attracted to Akaashi. He had hook-ups on Heatwave during ERS flare-ups, but even after the ordeal he hadn’t wanted anything more with those Omegas. He hadn’t loved any of their scents the way he loved Akaashi’s.

Bokuto’s fingers itched, standing at Akaashi’s door, to go in and help the Omega; to end this heat the way he knew they both desperately and primally wanted. Akaashi had even asked for it, and Lord knew that Bokuto wanted that too. 

But he clenched his jaw and turned around. 

He had to stay strong, and show Akaashi he could have self-control. He had to show him that he wasn’t like other Alphas who would take advantage of his heat to get what they wanted. 

It would suck now but it would pay off in the long run. 

To help clear his mind, Bokuto decided to take Sousuke to the park, and walk a few laps with the baby. 

It was about to be evening, and in the summer time, that meant it was just starting to cool off, which made it the perfect time to bring children and for people to get in their exercise. The park was a bit crowded, but not too crowded that Bokuto had problems finding space to walk on the outer track surrounding it. 

As he walked, he wondered what he could do for Akaashi after his heat was over. 

At first he thought about taking him to dinner, but Akaashi would probably feel out of place at the places Bokuto would want to take him, and he would probably get upset if Bokuto paid. 

Then he thought about taking him for a spa day, but that still introduced the problem of Bokuto paying for Akaashi to do it. 

What to get for a selfless Omega who didn’t like being paid for?

He puzzled over the idea before a plan started brewing in his mind.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit shorter this time folks, but still some interesting stuff (at least I think so)!!

Akaashi realized with exhausted elation that he was coming down from his heat. 

It had been a full 6 days of raging hormones, and the Omega felt disgusting, covered in all sorts of fluids. He hadn’t been able to eat much, and it took all of Kenma’s efforts to keep him hydrated through the week. He’d have to make sure to thank him immensely. 

When Akaashi wobbled out of his room wearing pajamas, Kenma looked up from the handheld video game he was playing. 

“You look like you’re done,” he said, and Akaashi nodded. 

More than anything, he wanted to see Sousuke and Bokuto, but before that, his stomach let out a sharp growl that told him he needed to find food first. 

“There’s fried rice in the fridge,” Kenma said, and Akaashi went to heating it up, ravenously devouring the leftovers from what he assumed was delivery.

“Thank you,” Akaashi said, once he was finished eating. “For taking care of me all week.”

“If you weren’t my best friend, there’s no way I’d ever do that,” Kenma said, not looking up from his game. 

“I’ll take you out to dinner sometime,” Akaashi offered and Kenma just hummed in agreement. 

While Kenma played his games, Akaashi got to work getting rid of the scent of his heat. He plugged scent deodorants into the wall and began spraying each room and his furniture with scent blocking spray. It wouldn’t get rid of everything, but it would ensure Bokuto wouldn’t go into rut just by stepping into the apartment. 

At the thought of the Alpha, Akaashi felt his face heat up, and he covered it with both his hands groaning. 

He couldn’t believe the embarrassing things he said to him when his heat first hit him. Of course, he wasn’t really in his right mind, but that didn’t mean he had to say embarrassing Omega-like things. Bokuto wasn’t even his Alpha, so it wasn’t his job to help. 

Akaashi went to take a shower, hoping it would erase some of the shame. 

He knew Bokuto liked him, and he liked Bokuto too. They had verified their feelings for each other weeks ago, but this might have been too big of a jump for their relationship. Akaashi was afraid that he ruined everything, especially because Bokuto was watching Sousuke, which he knew was an inconvenience. 

Once he got out of the shower and dressed, he felt much better. 

Making sure all of his fans were on helped the smell dissipate quicker, and when it was at suitable levels, Akaashi called Bokuto. Kenma took that as his cue to leave, and gathered his things. 

_“Hey, Akaashi. How are you feeling?”_ Bokuto asked when he answered. 

“Better. The heat is over, so you can bring Sousuke back whenever you’re ready,” Akaashi said. He hid it well, but the anxiety of not having Sousuke around was almost as unbearable as the heat, and while he knew he was safe with Bokuto, he didn’t really _know_. 

_“We can leave now,”_ Bokuto said, and Akaashi felt some of the load being lifted from his heart. On the other end of the phone, Akaashi could hear the Alpha cooing at Sousuke.

_“Are you ready to see mama? I bet you are!”_

Akaashi couldn’t help but smile, and Kenma furrowed his eyebrows. Akaashi shook his head at him as if to say “nothing” and Kenma shrugged before waving goodbye and leaving.

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi started, and Bokuto quieted down on the other end of the line. “I just wanted to say again how truly sorry I am-“

_“Akaaaasshhiiii,”_ Bokuto drawled, before the Omega could even finish. _“I already told you that you don’t have to apologize. I understand the situation was a bit of an emergency. I swear, there are no problems on my end.”_

Akaashi seriously couldn’t believe an Alpha like Bokuto existed. 

“I know,” he said, “I’m just….embarrassed,” Akaashi confessed, allowing himself to be vulnerable for a moment. 

_“What are you embarrassed about?”_ Bokuto asked. 

“The things I said to you were a bit uncouth, and I was put in a position where I needed to ask for your help once again.”

_“If you’re worried that you might’ve said something that scared me away, don’t. I’m still here. And I don’t know how many times I have to tell you , Akaashi Keiji, that I’m going to help you no matter what. Don’t act like I don’t want this too.”_

Something about the way he said his given name and the words he chose to use had Akaashi breathless, holding the phone up to one ear and the other up to his chest in a vain attempt to still his flustered heart. Bokuto wasn’t always elegant with his words, but he knew how to say the rights ones when needed. 

“Okay,” Akaashi said, tucking his legs under him on the couch. “So how was your week with Sousuke?”

Bokuto dived right into explaining every little detail of every day, and his animated stories brought a smile to the Omega’s lips. He listened with rapt interest while Bokuto described how he’d played with Sousuke, and sympathized with his woes of trial and error learning what worked for the infant. 

_“All in all it was a great time. 10 out of 10 would recommend,”_ Bokuto said.

“Good, I’m sure Sousuke enjoyed the change of pace,” Akaashi hummed, and then there was a knock at his door. 

_“Oh yeah, by the way, I’m outside.”_

Akaashi hung up the phone and went to the door to answer it, and when he did, he couldn’t help but smile. 

“One Akaashi Sousuke for you,” Bokuto said, carefully pulling Sousuke out of his carrier and handing him to Akaashi. The Omega snuggled and scented Sousuke, grateful to have him home and within arm’s reach. 

He walked to the couch, brushing down Sousuke’s wispy black hairs with his hands, and Bokuto followed him, placing the baby bag by the front door. 

There was a moment the Alpha was sent reeling from the lingering scent of Akaashi’s heat, but it was masked enough to not be an issue, and Bokuto was able to just shake it off. 

“Sit,” Akaashi said, moving over to make room for Bokuto on the couch. The Alpha did so, sitting beside Akaashi so that he could also look down at Sousuke. 

“Did you have to buy a lot to keep him for a week?” Akaashi asked, turning to look at the Alpha. Bokuto averted his gaze. 

“Uh, nope,” he lied and Akaashi snorted. 

“You’re a bad liar, Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said fondly. 

“It was just necessary stuff. But hey! Next time my apartment is already Sousuke-ready!” Bokuto said and Akaashi placed the infant on his playmat on the floor. 

“Well,” he started, looking at his hands. “Next time I was hoping you could be with me.”

Bokuto froze. Or maybe he died. But words couldn’t explain the shock of emotions he felt when Akaashi Keiji, the Omega of his literal dreams, told him he wanted to spend a heat together. His breathing hitched to a stop and his heart thundered in his chest. 

“What?” he squawked ungracefully, though Akaashi remained calm. 

“I was thinking that next time this happened, you could be with me.”

Hearing it a second time didn’t help at all with Bokuto’s comprehension of the fact.

“ _What_?!” he parroted, and Akaashi turned his gaze away, rose dusting his cheeks. 

“I wouldn’t want to mate or anything. I would understand if you didn’t want to, but I feel like it would-“

“Well, of course I want to!” Bokuto interrupted. “But do _you_ really want to? I wanted to give you time to figure out wat you needed.”

“And I thank you for that, but we’re dating aren’t we? Wouldn’t this be the logical next step?” Akaashi asked, and at the word “dating” Bokuto’s mind exploded. 

He covered his burning face with his hands and sunk into the couch. 

“Akaaaasshhiii,” he groaned, mind suddenly filled with images of them doing cheesy couple things, like riding a ferris wheel, or splitting spaghetti. And surprisingly, /that/ made Bokuto more embarrassed than the idea of having sex with him. 

They hadn’t exactly put a name on what they were yet, so to hear Akaashi say it so bluntly was a surprise. 

“I’m sorry if I’ve misunderstood,” Akaashi said, fidgeting nervously with his hands. 

Bokuto reached over and grabbed his arm. 

“I promise it’s okay, you’re just throwing a lot at me at once,” Bokuto sighed. 

Akaashi didn’t say anything else and let Bokuto process everything. 

“So we’re dating?” Bokuto asked. 

“Yes.”

“We’ve been dating?” 

“I guess so,” Akaashi answered.

“And you want to spend your next heat with me?” 

The blatant question made Akaashi’s cheeks heat up. 

“That’s what I said.”

“We haven’t even kissed yet!” Bokuto exclaimed, and the Omega turned his gaze to him. 

“There’s nothing saying we can’t,” Akaashi mumbled, and whatever resolve Bokuto had remaining crumbled. 

“Oh, Akaashi Keiji, I’m gonna smooch you _so hard_ ,” Bokuto said as he cupped the Omega’s face. Akaashi grinned before pressing their lips together, and for a first kiss, it wasn’t that bad. 

Scratch that. It was _amazing_.

Of course Bokuto had kissed people before, but kissing Akaashi just felt _right_. He could hear his heart hammering in his ears, and the shuddering sigh Akaashi released as their lips came together was just icing on a perfect cake. 

And never before had he been so self-conscious about a kiss. 

Were his lips chapped?

Did his breath smell?

Was Akaashi enjoying this as much as he was?

But the Omega didn’t pull away. Instead, he slowly wrapped his arms around Bokuto’s neck, drawing the kiss deeper as he parted his own lips as an invitation. 

Fireworks were going off in Bokuto’s head, and it was completely autopilot that tentatively pushed his tongue against Akaashi’s bottom lip. The Omega hummed lightly, and Bokuto took that as his cue to continue, sliding his tongue into Akaashi’s mouth and letting the muscle explore. 

There was a suspended breathless energy about the way they kissed, and when they pulled apart, both of them were lightly panting. For a moment, they just stared into each other’s eyes. Bokuto’s hands were still cupping Akaashi’s face and he used his thumbs to rub gently under Akaashi’s sharp blue eyes. The Omega leaned into the touch, bringing his hand up to cover Bokuto’s. 

Amusedly, Bokuto realized Akaashi’s hands were bigger than his. 

“I want you to meet my father,” Bokuto mumled, the sound barely bubbling up in his throat. Anything louder felt like it would ruin this serene moment. 

“Okay,” Akaashi breathed. 

“Will you cook for him?” Bokuto asked, and Akaashi nodded. 

Akaashi looked down.

“What about Sousuke?” Akaashi asked. 

“We can all meet at my apartment, and you can bring Sousuke,” Bokuto suggested, and Akaashi hummed in agreement. 

“I’ve never been to your apartment,” Akaashi commented. 

“Well, we should change that,” Bokuto said before he kissed Akaashi on the forehead. The Omega moved in closer and began rubbing against Bokuto’s neck, effectively scenting himself. Bokuto’s hands moved to slide gently down Akaashi’s back, holding him in a light and loose touch. 

Bokuto let it happen, releasing his pheromones so the Omega could smell like him. And Akaashi rubbed his scent glands against Bokuto so that the opposite would also be true. 

“You smell nice,” Akaashi mumbled, and the feeling of his lips moving against the sensitive skin of Bokuto’s neck sent shivers down his spine. 

“Oh? What do I smell like?” Bokuto asked. 

“Like a fireplace,” Akaashi commented, before yawning. “Sorry, I haven’t had much sleep.”

“That’s okay. If you need to sleep, I can go,” Bokuto said as Akaashi shifted to stand. 

“I’m going to put Sousuke in the nest, please stay,” the Omega said before gathering the pup in his arms. 

Bokuto took a deep breath to steady his frazzled nerves, and all he could smell was Akaashi. It was nice to have the Omega close in this way, and the scent of him left a pleasant but hazy fog over his mind. 

Akaashi put Sousuke away and then came back to the couch, affectionately nuzzling Bokuto when he sat. 

“You have to meet Tetsu, too,” Bokuto hummed, rubbing the Omega’s back and feeling him go slack in his arms. 

“Is that your best friend?” Akaashi asked, gingerly placing his hand over Bokuto’s chest. 

“Yeah,” he responded, and the both of them went silent. Before Bokuto could even start up again on another topic of conversation, Akaashi’s breathing had evened out and he was unresponsive. Bokuto thought he was cute, and kissed the top of his head before trying to doze off himself.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot THICKENS. 
> 
> Also, we have reached the point where I probably won't be able to post everyday. Instead I'm going to move to weekly posts, and if I can post earlier than that I will.

“If you could make anything in the world, what would it be?” Bokuto asked, leaning on Akaashi’s counter. They were going to go walk around the park, so Bokuto met the Omega at his apartment so they could drive. 

“Probably beef wellington. I made it once in school,” Akaashi said, taking Sousuke out of his baby carrier. “Could you unstrap this?”

Bokuto unclipped the necessary clips holding the baby carrier on Akaashi’s body and gave him a kiss on his shoulder. 

It had been a week since their first kiss, and Akaashi was learning very quickly that Bokuto was highly affectionate, and very touchy. 

Very different from his first Alpha, who didn’t like touch very much at all. 

“Well, then you should make beef wellington for me and my dad! I’ll buy all the ingredients,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi nodded. 

“Sure,” he said walking back into his bedroom. “I’m going to feed and change Sousuke and then I’ll change clothes.”

“You have to change?” Bokuto asked from the other room, and Akaashi peeked from around the corner, pointing at a yellowish-greenish stain on his t-shirt. 

“Babies puke on me everyday for a living,” Akaashi commented flatly, and Bokuto winced. 

“Ew.”

“Better than from the other end,” Akaashi commented. 

“I may have asked before, but why are you working for a daycare? Why not work in a restaurant or something?”

“Restaurants don’t always have steady hours, and the daycare let’s me bring Sousuke for free,” Akaashi responded from the other room. 

“So it’s a daycare issue,” Bokuto mumbled, as he started thinking of ways he could help the Omega pursue his dream while also taking care of his pup. Did he know of an opening somewhere? Was there a way for him to watch Sousuke in the evenings?

As he puzzled about it, Akaashi came back, baby in tow. He held the pup out to Bokuto so he could put on the baby carrier over his new shirt, and then took Sousuke to put him in the carrier. 

“I want to try to go back to culinary school when Sousuke is old enough for school. If I can save up enough,” Akaashi commented, and Bokuto nodded. 

“And what do you want afterwards?” the Alpha asked. 

“What most people want with a culinary degree. To own my own restaurant,” Akaashi responded, and they left the apartment, Akaashi making sure to lock up before they left. 

It was Akaashi’s first time in Bokuto’s car since he had given birth to Sousuke, and the Alpha noticed Akaashi’s perceptive gaze on the back seat as he strapped Sousuke in. But neither of them commented on it, as Akaashi slid into the front seat. 

Bokuto held out his right hand to Akaashi, who stared down at it for a moment before he realized Bokuto wanted to hold hands. Akaashi rolled his eyes but couldn’t help the small smile that played on his lips as he placed his hand in the Alpha’s. 

“You really don’t miss an opportunity for stuff like this, do you?” Akaashi asked. 

“I had to pine for like 4 months, so hell no I’m not passing up this opportunity,” Bokuto said. 

“You were pining after me for that long?” the Omega asked, and Bokuto looked a bit bashful. 

“There was just something different about you. I don’t know what,” Bokuto said, and Akaashi just smiled, staring out the window. 

It didn’t take long before they reached the park and the two of them started walking on the small track around the park’s edge, when Bokuto had an idea. 

“A stroller!” he exclaimed. 

Akaashi didn’t respond. 

“Don’t you think we need one?” 

“One would be nice for days like this,” Akaashi admitted. 

“I think so too. We should go pick one up after our walk,” Bokuto said. 

“But they’re expensive…”

“I’ll buy, Akaashi. Don’t even worry about it.”

The Omega looked very conflicted about whether or not to let Bokuto pay for the expense.

“You shouldn’t,” Akaashi resigned, and Bokuto seemed to deflate. 

Just as Bokuto was about to start up another conversation, Akaashi’s phone rang. Checking the caller ID, he felt his nerves rise. 

“Hold on, I have to take this,” he said, walking away from the Alpha to go stand with Sousuke by himself. 

Bokuto watched with mild concern as Akaashi answered the phone. 

“Hello?”

_“Good afternoon, is this Akaashi Keiji?”_ the woman on the other end said. 

“It is,” Akaashi said, a mix of fear and excitement in his voice. 

_“I regret to inform you that your request to have your bond annulled has been denied,”_ she said smoothly, no hint of the regret she spoke of in her voice.

“What?” Akaashi breathed, feeling terror and panic consume him. 

_“In order to annul, both parties must agree on the dissolution of the bond. If you were still interested in trying to break off the agreement, we offer services on bond dissolution, and have plenty of attorneys who could represent you,”_ the woman said. 

Akaashi wanted to scream out with how frustrated at the situation he was, how he couldn’t afford an attorney, how seeing that man again, even in court, would be enough to undo a year of hard work for himself and his pup. But he swallowed down his negative emotions. 

“Thank you. Is that all?” he asked calmly.

_“That was all. I hope you have a nice day,”_ she said before disconnecting the call. 

As if he could have a nice day after the news he just received. 

In his baby carrier, Sousuke started to whine, no doubt reacting to the negative emotions emitted in Akaashi’s scent. He took a second to breathe, pinching the bridge of his nose before walking back over to Bokuto. 

The Alpha could see he was distressed. 

“What’s wrong?” he asked, concern laced in his voice. 

“I need to go home,” Akaashi said tensely. 

“Are you sure? We just got here.”

“Please,” Akaashi responded, and the watery look in his eyes made Bokuto’s heart break. Whatever he heard on the phone was not good news. 

“Okay, let’s go,” Bokuto said, turning to walk back towards the car. Akaashi followed silently and said nothing as he put Sousuke into the baby carrier. On the car ride over, he made another phone call. 

“Could I speak with Dr. Ogura? I need to reschedule a missed appointment,” Akaashi said calmly. 

Bokuto wondered if that could be what Akaashi was so upset about, but he also knew the Omega would tell him whenever he was ready. 

“Yes, this Thursday at 5 works for me,” he said after a while, and while Bokuto was really curious, he wouldn’t pry.

“See you then,” the Omega said before hanging up the phone. 

Bokuto tried to look unassuming and focused on driving. Akaashi didn’t say anything either and just looked out the window forlornly. 

When they got to Akaashi’s apartment, Bokuto walked him up the stairs before clearing his throat. 

“Should I go?” he asked, but Akaashi didn’t give him an answer as he walked into his apartment leaving the door open. Bokuto followed him in and shut the door behind him watching as Akaashi calmly placed Sousuke into his rocker. 

“My request to get my bond annulled was denied,” Akaashi said and Bokuto gasped lightly. 

That would explain why the Omega was so upset. Akaashi placed his hand where his bond mark was and wrapped his other arm around himself. Bokuto could tell he looked like he was about to cry, but the Omega refused to do so. 

Bokuto went to him, hugging him tightly against his chest.

“Is there anything we can do?” 

“I could take him to court, but I wouldn’t be able to pay for a decent lawyer,” the Omega hesitated. 

“Don’t worry about that. I’ll cover the expenses,” Bokuto suggested firmly. Akaashi pushed against him. 

“I can’t ask you to do that,” he said. 

“You’re not asking. I’m offering. This is a big deal. If you’re still bonded to this guy then he can find you and Sousuke and there isn’t anything you can do about it. If you can take him to court and get the bond dissolved, then the /last/ thing I want you worrying about is how you’re going to pay for it,” Bokuto insisted and Akaashi clenched his jaw, eyes watering. 

“I’ll have to think about it,” Akaashi said with trepidation, and Bokuto felt on edge. He wanted so desperately to pour into the Omega all the love and affection he could. He didn’t want Akaashi to want for anything, yet there were things he needed that he wouldn’t accept his help on, and it was driving Bokuto up the wall. 

On some level he understood. Akaashi had depended on an Alpha before, and had been disappointed, but Bokuto wasn’t like that other Alpha, and he desperately needed for Akaashi to see that. 

“Okay,” Bokuto resigned, trying to think of what could turn around this devastating situation right now. “Tetsu is an attorney, we could always ask him for advice.”

Akaashi nodded and took in a deep breath. 

“That might be for the best,” he said, and Bokuto nodded. 

“I can go with you. If you need any help,” he suggested, and Akaashi just nodded. 

“I’ll call him and set up an appointment for legal counselling,” the Omega said, scrolling his phone to find Kuroo’s work information and going to sit on the couch. Bokuto followed him, but turned to watch Sousuke. 

_“You’re talking to Kuroo Tetsurou, how may I help you?”_

“Good afternoon, my name is Akaashi Keiji, and I wanted to set up an appointment for legal counselling,” Akaashi said, clutching at his chest. 

There was a pause on the other end of the line. 

_“Huh, okay. I have an opening at 3:15 tomorrow,”_ Kuroo said. 

“I’ll take it,” Akaashi responded, and there was another pause from the other end of the line. 

_“Alright, then I’ll see you at 3:15 tomorrow, have a good day.”_

The line clicked and disconnected and Akaashi breathed a sigh of relief, at least he was moving forward, and as long as he was doing that, there was no reason to panic. 

“I’m going to see him at 3:15 tomorrow,” Akaashi said. 

“Won’t you have to miss work?” Bokuto asked. 

“I can go in for a half day,” Akaashi responded, leaning on the Alpha slightly.

“Can I drive you?” Bokuto asked and Akaashi pondered the question in silence for a moment. 

This would be the decisive moment on whether or not he fought this battle by himself, or with Bokuto helping him. Whatever ended up happening, the journey would be ugly, and Akaashi had to wonder if it would be worth putting Bokuto through something like that. The Alpha would no-doubt learn sensitive information about his past all at once and it could ruin the nature of their relationship if Bokuto thought that Akaashi was too damaged. 

But there was the whisperings of something deep within him, a sort of longing, that wanted Bokuto to help him. Akaashi /wanted/ to give Bokuto a chance, and to trust him.  
And in order to do that, he had to take a leap of faith. 

“Yes,” Akaashi said, hoping he wouldn’t come to regret his decision. 

The next day Akaashi was on edge, and his co-workers and the babies in the nursery could feel it. His request to take a half day was approved, and Bokuto was waiting for him outside when Akaashi was ready to leave. 

The drive to Kuroo’s work was quick and quiet, and when they got there, before Bokuto could suggest anything, Akaashi handed Sousuke over to him. 

“Could you wait with him out here please?” he asked, and Bokuto nodded, leaning down to give the Omega a kiss on his cheek. 

Kuroo came out of his office when he heard the front door chime, and he smiled at the two of them. 

“When you told me your name, I thought it would be you,” he said, livening up the mood a little. “Come on in.”

He gestured to his office and Akaashi gave another look to Bokuto before walking in. 

“So, what can I do to help the famous Akaashi?” Kuroo asked with a lop-sided grin, sitting at his desk. 

Akaashi gingerly took a seat across from him. 

“I put in a request to have my bond dissolved with my mate, and it was denied, and I was unsure about what I needed to do next,” Akaashi said, and as Kuroo watched him talk, he started to realize what Bokuto found so attractive in the Omega.

“Bond dissolutions are tricky, especially when it’s the Omega requesting the split. I’m pretty sure I already know the answer, but I have to ask. Is there no hope of reconciliation with your mate?”

Something about Kuroo seemed flippant, and it set Akaashi on edge. He took a sharp inhale and turned his gaze to the floor, fiddling with his hands.

“No.”

“What’s your reason for seeking dissolution?”

As if he were there, memories of his experiences with his old Alpha flickered in front of his eyes. Raised hands, sharp kicks, and cold eyes made Akaashi’s shiver, and he rubbed his arms. 

“Abuse, mainly,” Akaashi breathed, the word hanging heavy in the air. 

“Has he ever abused your son?” Kuroo asked, voice a little more sympathetic. 

“He doesn’t know about Sousuke,” the Omega responded. 

“Is he in Japan?” Kuroo asked, picking up a pen and scribbling down some of the facts. 

“He went to France to work on developing a new medicine about a year ago.”

“If your bond annulment request got denied, then it’s probably because the Alpha doesn’t want to dissolve the bond, which means if you really do want a dissolution, you’re going to have to get the court involved,” Kuroo said, and Akaashi looked down at his hands forlornly. “It’ll be hard, especially because bond dissolutions where the Omega is requesting the dissolution aren’t taken seriously, and frankly there aren’t a whole lot of them.”

Despite their modern age, there was still discrimination against Omegas, especially regarding the law. Socially things had become much better than 100 years ago, but that didn’t mean there were huge legal pushes to support the growing social movements. 

“It's my professional advice for you to take this case to court. I would be willing to represent you, or if you would feel more comfortable with someone else, I can recommend many skillful attorneys who would work hard on a case like this.”

Akaashi stayed silent for a moment, feeling hot and angry tears well up at his eyes. He could already tell this was going to be difficult, but thinking of the alternative, of staying with *him* made Akaashi shake. He didn’t want to live like that ever again, and he couldn’t put Sousuke at risk either. 

“Could I take some time to think about it and let you know later?” the Omega asked, feeling exhausted and overwhelmed at the situation at hand, clenching his fists in his lap to keep tears from spilling over. 

“Absolutely,” Kuroo said, grabbing one of his cards from his desk. “I’m writing my cell number on the back here, in case you need to contact me outside of work hours. I’ll do what I can to help you.”

Akaashi felt grateful to him, and he could see an inkling of why Bokuto trusted him so much. 

“Thank you, Kuroo-san,” Akaashi said, standing, and Kuroo stood as well. 

“No problem! Let me walk you out,” he said, leading Akaashi to the door. 

Outside of his office, Bokuto was pacing slowly, rocking Sousuke gently in his arms, and Akaashi couldn’t help but smile gently at the scene. Bokuto heard the door open and turned to face them. 

“Everything go okay?” Bokuto asked, a hint of concern in his voice when he saw Akaashi’s face. 

“It went fine,” Akaashi asked, taking Sousuke from Bokuto and smoothing down his dark tufts of hair. 

Bokuto could tell that Akaashi was shaken up, and he looked to Kuroo, who’s bleak expression told Bokuto that they were in for a rough journey ahead of them. 

He put on a smile, despite his worry. If Akaashi were upset, then he couldn’t be all doom and gloom as well. 

“Okay,” he said, “Thanks, Tetsu, we really appreciate your help,” Bokuto said, gently placing his hand at the small of Akaashi’s back. 

“Anytime. Don’t hesitate to reach out if you need anymore help,” Kuroo said, and Bokuto turned to walk out of the building. Akaashi followed, and Bokuto started chatting immediately. 

“So I was thinking we could get dinner somewhere. There’s this place that’s really close that makes the _best_ gyudon, and they’re a family-style restaurant so taking Sousuke-“

“Bokuto-san,” Akaashi said, stopping at the car. “I would like to go home, please.”

There was a moment of pause and Bokuto nodded. 

“Anything you want, Akaashi,” he said, before getting in the car to turn it on and get the air conditioner at a good temperature. He didn’t know what was on the Omega’s mind, but he wasn’t going to push him. After hearing briefly about the nature of his last Alpha, Bokuto wasn’t too keen at making Akaashi relive those memories, and he was almost certain Akaashi’s mood was related to his past Alpha. 

So he would stay silent, and try to stay positive, for all of them.


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WHEW! Sorry this is late, I had some problems writing this chapter, and was feeling a little uninspired. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it.

“So, Akaashi, tell us about this mystery man,” his co-worker, Yukie, said while leaning across the small table they sat out for lunch.

They ate on rotation, so that there was always one person watching kids at all time. Akaashi and Yukie shared a lunch rotation, since Akaashi watched one year old pups and younger, and Yukie watched three to five year olds. 

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Akaashi said, putting another bite of food in his mouth. 

“We’ve all been talking about it. We can smell him on you, you know,” Yukie said with a sing-song voice, and Akaashi’s eyes darted to her. 

He hadn’t thought he’d spent so much time with Bokuto that his scent would’ve rubbed off on him, but he guessed he was wrong. Akaashi took a sniff at his clothes. 

“You’re so cool and mysterious, Akaashi, but I can see behind the curtain,” she said. 

“If you don’t eat, you’ll miss your lunch break,” Akaashi said, knowing how much she loved her food. She shoved a whole onigiri in her mouth, and while chewing, raising her eyebrows expectantly. A sigh escaped Akaashi’s lips. 

“He’s just an Alpha I met a while ago. He helped me out so I agreed to cook for him to repay his kindness, and now we’re dating,” he explained. 

“You never cook for me!” Yukie exclaimed, looking almost put-out. “He must’ve done you a big favor.”

“He did,” Akaashi responded, leaving it at that and picking at his lunch some more. “Also, if it bothers you that I don’t cook for you I can make you a bento every now and again.”

“Really?!”

“As long as you keep my personal business to yourself, free bentos once a week are yours.”

Yukie’s jaw dropped, but Akaashi remained relatively expressionless. 

“Bribery! Akaashi, you are an Omega full of many surprises!” Yukie said. 

As he finished his bento, he began to wrap it up. It wasn’t like he didn’t really trust Yukie, or that he really cared if people knew about him and Bokuto, but with the decision to head forward and try to dissolve his bond, things were going to get messy, and it would be best if his relationship was on a need to know basis. 

And Yukie, his closest work friend, technically counted. He never hung out with her outside of work, but they had a good collegial relationship. She was an Alpha, which was uncommon for childcare workers, but because she was a woman, it wasn’t as big of a deal. Akaashi felt drawn to her at work, maybe because she was closest to his age there, but she was also light-hearted and easy to talk to, which on Akaashi’s end meant she was easy to listen to. 

A part of him knew he would need to be reaching out and relying on her in the coming days, so it wouldn’t help to let her in on the circle a little bit and also treat her nicely.

~*~

Dinner that night was at Bokuto’s house, and Akaashi was finally going to meet his father.

Fretting in his room at his closet, he pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure what to wear to meet the CEO in charge of the prefecture’s hospitals, even though he had been told by Bokuto many times that it wouldn’t matter. 

He didn’t want to wear anything that looked cheap, but he was also nervous about overdressing. It was just dinner at Bokuto’s house after all. Of course he had to worry about getting any of his good clothes dirty while he was cooking, and he looked over to Sousuke, who was sitting in a baby carrier and giggling at the toys hanging from the handle. 

Maybe if he just used cooking and Sousuke’s propensity to vomit as excuses, he could dress down and rationalize it to himself and the Bokutos. 

Deciding that he would do that, he grabbed an outfit from his closet and changed from his clothes he wore to work. 

He had told Bokuto the ingredients for dinner tonight, and he was at one time nervous and excited to cook beef wellington. It was a hard dish to pull off correctly, and he had only made it one other time before, but he was trying to feel confidence in his cooking abilities. 

He reviewed the recipe in his head while he walked to the bus stop and while riding the bus. 

Before he knew it, he was standing in front of a luxurious loft apartment and restaurant. In Akaashi’s opinion it was a bit overly lavish. He didn’t believe in excess, which, thinking now, was probably how he was so comfortable with his situation now. 

He sent Bokuto a text to tell him he was here, and Bokuto gave him the code to get to his apartment. 

Akaashi got on the elevator and typed the code into the pin pad, allowing him to press the button for Bokuto’s top floor apartment. As the floors climbed, he felt his nerves mount, and he took a deep breath, staring down at Sousuke and petting his soft hair to keep himself grounded. This would probably be one of the least stressful things he deals with in the near future. 

When the door opened, he was in a hallway with only one door. He assumed that was Bokuto’s front door and knocked. 

An older man with graying hair and a joyful smile answered the door. 

“You must be Akaashi Keiji, Koutarou’s told me about you,” he said heartily, holding his hand out. Akaashi shook his hand, feeling his nerves rest a little when he realized that Bokuto must have gotten his joyous personality from his father. 

“Dad! I wanted to introduce you two properly!” he said, coming out from the kitchen looking distressed, and Akaashi couldn’t help but smile. 

“It’s nice to meet you too, Bokuto-sama,” he said, and Bokuto’s father’s eyes went to Sousuke. 

“And this must be the famous pup, Sousuke,” he said, crouching down to eye level with the baby in the baby carrier. Akaashi let him admire the baby, and Bokuto’s father. 

“I remember when Koutarou was that small,” he sighed, standing up to his full height. 

“Dad!” 

“He was such an energetic baby. Noisy too, but I guess nothing has changed,” he said laughing, and Akaashi joined in. 

“He’s a good man,” Akaashi said, taking off his shoes and entering the apartment. Bokuto blushed and scratched the back of his head. 

“Did you wanna put Sousuke on the play mat while you cooked?” Bokuto asked, and Akaashi nodded, following Bokuto to the large living room. 

Everything was open, like a studio apartment almost, but Akaashi could see rooms leading to what he assumed were the bedroom and bathrooms. An island was the only thing separating the kitchen from the dining room and living room. It was open and freeing, exactly how Akaashi would’ve pictured an apartment for Bokuto to be. In the living room, Sousuke’s play mat was set up and Akaashi carefully set the baby on the floor. 

“Did you get all the ingredients I texted you?” Akaashi asked, as he walked towards the kitchen. 

“I did! Oh, did you need an apron?” Bokuto asked, eyes shining. It was something that Akaashi forgot to bring, but he wasn’t sure how he felt about the look in Bokuto’s eyes. 

“Yes?”

Bokuto walked to a drawer and unfolded a pink frilly apron, holding it up to Akaashi eagerly. 

“I saw it and thought of you immediately!” 

Bokuto’s father laughed and Akaashi tried to hide his grimace. 

It wasn’t that he was opposed to wearing pink, but the frills may have been a little extra. He was still a man, even if he was an Omega. But looking at Bokuto’s face, he didn’t have the heart to deny him, so he sighed and took the apron, slipping it around his head and tying it around his waist. 

Bokuto gave him a thumbs up when it was on, and Akaashi started with meal prep. 

There was a lot to prepare and cook, and Akaashi did so in relative silence while the Bokuto’s talked. Once everything was in the oven and the timer was set, Akaashi began making side dishes. 

“He’s like a pro,” Bokuto’s father whispered, watching Akaashi. 

“I know,” Bokuto replied, “I really lucked out. He used to be in culinary school before Sousuke was born.”

Bokuto’s father nodded. 

When dinner was ready, Akaashi made a plate for everyone and set each plate on the table carefully. 

“Beef wellington with asparagus and hollandaise sauce and herb roasted potatoes,” he announced, sitting at the table. 

“Thank you for the food!” Bokuto said before chowing down. 

“This is really good, Akaashi-kun,” Bokuto’s father said when he tried it. “You are one skilled chef.”

Akaashi smiled lightly at the compliment. 

“Thank you, sir, that is very kind for you to say,” Akaashi commented.

“Do you currently have a job using your culinary skills?”

“I work at a daycare right now,” the Omega responded, and Bokuto’s father hummed, taking another bite of his food. 

“Well, if you’re interested, the restaurant in this building is currently looking for line cooks. They pay well and I could talk to the owner about letting you continue culinary school,” he responded and Akaashi was floored. 

So it wasn’t just Bokuto, but his father as well who were generous and giving men. 

Bokuto looked excitedly to Akaashi. 

“If you work in the evenings, I could watch Sousuke for you, and he’s only a couple floors away!” Bokuto offered, and Akaashi held up his hands defensively. 

“Thank you so much for the offer, but I’m not sure I could accept something so generous,” Akaashi said. “And changing careers right now would be a little irresponsible for me.”

He thought of all the legal issues he was going to experience, the days of work he was going to have to miss work to meet with attorneys, and he knew that he couldn’t make that change right now, if ever. 

Both Bokutos seemed to deflate. 

“Well, let me know.”

~*~

_“And you got the invoice from the pharmaceutical company, right?”_

Bokuto sighed. 

“Yes, dad, I got it.”

He understood why his father was a bit nervous. It was his first time meeting alone the representative of the big pharmaceutical company their hospitals worked with. He’d been in meetings before with the man, but always with his father, who had final say-so in everything. Today it wouldn’t be like that, and Bokuto had to go solo because his father accidentally double-booked. More like his secretary double-booked, but the poor Omega was heavily worked. 

Bokuto made sure his computer was all set up to webcam with the pharmaceutical representative, and sighed. 

He really didn’t like this man, and that was saying a lot because Bokuto typically liked everyone. 

But the meeting was boring. Very matter-of-factly and straight to the point, a few criticisms laced as concerning questions from the pharmaceutical end, and thinly veiled disdain from the hospital side. The other man tended to ask many superfluous questions in the vein of being cautious and diligent in his work. 

When he was finished with his meeting, he made sure his webcam and microphone were off and groaned. It was only 9 am and his day had been dampened. 

He wondered if he was really making the right choices in life. Was he working the right job? Did anything he do even make a difference to people? 

A sigh left his lips as he stared out his window, drumming his fingers against his desk. He stayed like that, looking blankly at the window and just wondering if anything was even worth it. 

His phone buzzed, getting his attention, and he read the text message from Akaashi. 

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_I saw this and thought of you._

Attached to the message was a picture of an advertisement for a zoo with an owl looking intently at its viewers. It looked like the picture was taken on the bus, and Bokuto smiled lightly. 

_To: Akaashi Keiji_

_That’s funny._

Normally, something like that would’ve made his day, but right now he felt drained and listless. But he had to get back to work, so he made himself pull through, finishing whatever work he had to do today and logging off. He had missed lunch, but belatedly he realized he wasn’t very hungry, and he gathered his things to leave. 

He checked his phone and saw he had gotten a response earlier from Akaashi. 

_From: Akaashi Keiji_

_What’s wrong?_

And Bokuto felt even worse. 

He was worrying Akaashi, who already had heaps of things to worry about. He didn’t need to be dealing with Bokuto’s mental state as well.

He didn’t respond to the text message, not knowing what to say and not feeling up to the task, and he pocketed his cell phone, leaving work to head to his car. 

In his car, Bokuto rubbed his face with his hands. 

It was one of _those_ days. 

He went straight home and ignored the texts and missed calls he got from Akaashi. He knew that if he talked to the Omega right now, he wouldn’t be able to keep his problems to himself, and he didn’t want to burden him with his worthless issues. 

Sleep came easily, and when Bokuto awoke the next morning, he stared at his ceiling for what felt like an eternity, thinking of nothing but occasionally having a thought about what mistakes he was currently making in his life. 

He sighed and unwillingly pulled himself out of bed to go to work. 

The rest of the week went similarly, and all without Akaashi’s presence to make him feel better. He limited his talk with Kuroo as well, knowing that his friend didn’t have time to set aside just because Bokuto wasn’t feeling 100%. He didn’t want to bother him. 

The only thing keeping him sane was the faint hints of Akaashi’s scent on some shirts he had asked to borrow a little while ago. 

“You have another meeting with pharmaceuticals at 11, the conference room will be ready for you,” the secretary said after tapping lightly on his door. 

“Conference room?” he asked. Normally his meetings were through the webcam. 

“The representative has flown in and is in Japan temporarily,” she explained, and Bokuto nodded, resisting the urge to groan into his hands. That seemed to be all he could do these days. 

He prepared for his meeting, calling his father to see if he would be in attendance. Bokuto received an affirmative answer, so when 11 rolled around, he prepared for the most upsetting meeting he was probably going to have. 

His father met him outside the conference room and took one look at him and frowned. 

“What’s eating you, son,” he said, clapping him on the shoulder roughly. 

“Nothing, just not feeling too well.”

Whereas other people might just tell him to cheer up or to put his emotions away, his father simply hummed. 

“You should spend some time with Tetsurou. Or that new Omega you’re fawning over,” his dad replied and Bokuto gave a weak smile. 

“I’ll think about it.”

They went into the conference room, still a little early, and set everything up they would need, and when they heard a knock, they turned to the door. 

“Kiyoomi-san has arrived,” the secretary announced, and Bokuto’s father waved him in. 

Sakusa Kiyoomi was a very successful Alpha, and young, like Bokuto. He was critical and discerning, able to put his smarts to use in a field that was unfortunately close to Bokuto’s own field. He hadn’t liked him in college, and he didn’t like him now, years later. It seemed like one big coincidence that Sakusa happened to work at the pharmaceuticals company that Bokuto’s father supplied from, and double coincidental that they both served as representatives for their respective companies. 

But Bokuto would be professional, because that was expected of him, and he was not going to be a disappointment. 

Sakusa bowed his head, and both Bokutos bowed as well. 

“Well, shall we begin?”

The meeting wasn’t as horrendous as he expected. Bokuto expected it was probably because his father was there, so the biting quips that went back and forth between them were put away. 

As they moved to stand, Bokuto’s father left first, and Bokuto followed, with Sakusa bringing up the rear. 

“You smell like Keiji,” Sakusa commented as they were leaving, and his words made Bokuto pause in his tracks. How did Sakusa Kiyoomi know Akaashi? He turned around, guard up.

“How do you know Akaashi?” he asked warily.

“Well, he’s my Omega.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of y'all might dislike the idea of who I chose to be the antagonist for this story, but I always felt an animosity between Sakusa and Bokuto, and that kind of competitiveness is actually what drove me to write this fic in the first place. The idea of them fighting over the same Omega as opposed to fighting over being a top ace really inspired me. And of course, I had to give ample reason for Akaashi to leave Sakusa, so there's how all that played out.

**Author's Note:**

> If you like, please leave a comment or a kudo!


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